


Graceful Sunshine

by Johnny_kun



Series: The Hinata twins [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Twins, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, Hinata Shouyou is flexible, Multi, No Twincest, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Supportive Hinata Shouyou, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 44,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22549492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Johnny_kun/pseuds/Johnny_kun
Summary: Hinata Shouyou and Hinata Mai were two parts of a whole. They have been inseparable from the very beginning of their existence.Regardless of all the good words, all the hard work and all the pain she went through, not every competition ended with a victory. And then, especially then, Shouyou knew what to do. He would never stop smiling as he embraced her strongly, hiding her tears in his shoulder and holding her together as she fell apart, only to help her clean her face so she could show herself in front of everyone else again.He was loud, while she was quiet, he was chaos, while she was calm and collected, she was the voice of his reasoning, he was the voice of her pride.**A "what if" kind of story - What if Shouyou had a twin sister who was also an athlete? How will she fit in Karasuno's family? (NO twincest)
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Series: The Hinata twins [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1804582
Comments: 87
Kudos: 266
Collections: Haikyuu14





	1. Two parts of one

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, hey! It's been a long while. Life, that's all I'm going to say. For anyone coming from my other stories - thank you for the continued support, you have helped me through a lot of hardships. I may one day finish what I started, but I can't promise when.
> 
> This is my first story in this fandom. I've been a Haikyuu fan way before the anime came out. I love the series. Finally, after almost a two year pause I decided to write again for my own enjoyment. I love it. I'm a little rusty, so excuse the awkwardness in the writing, but please, bear with me.
> 
> I'll edit all mistakes in the morning. More from me at the bottom.

Hinata Shouyou and Hinata Mai were two parts of a whole. They have been inseparable from the very beginning of their existence. 

At some point, sometime during the early years of their childhood, Mai expressed interest in a sport that her brother couldn’t be a part of. She took to it like a fish to water and jumped through medals and titles fast.

‘Natural talent’ and ‘Prodigy’ was what adults often called her. She never felt like anything more than just Hinata Mai. And the happiest memories from competitions and winnings were from when her brother was there to watch her, to cheer her, to hug her afterwards, to pat her on the head proudly, to take a picture, to hold the medal.

Regardless of all the good words, all the hard work and all the pain she went through, not every competition ended with a victory. And then, especially then, Shouyou knew what to do. He would never stop smiling as he embraced her strongly, hiding her tears in his shoulder and holding her together as she fell apart, only to help her clean her face so she could show herself in front of everyone else again. 

They went together for a jog in the morning, he attended some dance classes with her for a few years, she taught him to stretch, he taught her to jump.

When Shouyou took interest in volleyball, she helped him practice in any way she could. She wasn’t very good at all, but he always told her how much her hard work was helping him. 

She watched the Little Giant videos with him all the time and one night, in the dark, illuminated only by the light of the computer screen, with equal expressions of admiration and awe, the twins decided to attend Karasuno High School even though it was a 30 minute bike ride over the mountains. 

Mai was there for her brother’s first and last volleyball game in Middle school. She was there to see him fly, to see him fall and to hold him. He was so brave in her eyes. A warrior facing a tall wall. He fought with his all against experienced players and he left a lasting impression. 

He was loud, while she was quiet, he was chaos, while she was calm and collected, she was the voice of his reasoning, he was the voice of her pride. 

* * *

“Nii-chan, Nee-chan, wake up, wake up! Mommy said you’ll be late for your first day of school!” 

Tiny fingers probed at Shouyou’s face, making him groan and turn over, expecting his soft pillow to show him the nice path back to sleep. However, instead of the softness of his pillow, his nose was smashed in the hard wooden floor of his room.

“Eeeh?” Shouyou blinked sleepily with a grimace on his face. He sat up and poked Natsu on the forehead, making his little sister squeal in surprise. 

Looking around he noticed his bed - untouched because he never went to bed last night. His laptop was on the ground, still plugged in and if he was to turn it on, it would show a playlist of volleyball games. 

Last night he was too excited to fall asleep so he went to bother Mai and the two of them ended up watching videos from last year’s Japanese Volleyball Nationals. Game after game, they fell asleep on the floor with the computer between them. It wasn’t the first time. 

“Nii-chan, you meany, be late, then!” Natsu taunted with a pout and, with hands still touching the spot her brother had poked her, she left the room, loudly complaining to their mother. 

With all the ruckus, Mai was now also awake and she was stretching on the ground, rubbing her face while trying to pop a few bones in their place.

Usually the twins started their mornings early. Mai’s training regime required it and Shouyou always accompanied her to her morning runs and stretches. 

They had a routine and it worked flawlessly. Mai went to her room to get dressed and the two of them met in the kitchen for a quick breakfast. Today there was no time for a jog. Their mother took some pictures before she send them on the long bike journey to their new school.

The way to school passed in comfortable silence with Hinata riding ahead of his sister. Once they arrived, they shared one last excited grin and took off in different directions. Hinata - looking for the volleyball gym and Mai desperately hoping to find a gymnastics club or at least a suitable space for training.

The truth is their mother was not very sure if Karasuno is a good school for Mai. She was at almost national level, she trained everyday, countless hours spent in ballet and rhythmic gymnastics training. Her coach was an Olympic champion and she was strict. 

Karasuno didn’t have any history with the sport. Mai’s mother and coach wanted her to attend a different high school, with a better gymnastics base and thus, more opportunity for her to grow.

Mai didn’t even consider it. Karasuno was the home of the Little Giant, Karasuno was where Shouyou dreamed of playing, where he was going to become the ace. Karasuno was where she wanted to see him spread his wings for real. Separate schools weren’t an option to be considered. 

One night Shouyou had come in her room and told her how he can play volleyball at any school. “There are so many different teams in Miyagi. ” He had told her with a sad smile.

That night, she took his hand and led him to their mom so she could declare with a highly raised head, just like when she stepped on a competition floor, that the Hinata twins were going to Karasuno high school and nothing could stop them from reaching their goals. 

So, after a lot of arrangements with her coach, Mai was allowed to go. Her training center contacted the school and they were promised a free space for training everyday. Her coach would travel there as often as possible. Mai was determined to show everybody that she was just as strong as her brother. She could reach a spot in the national team regardless of all the hardships along the way. She had to, for Shouyou.

* * *

Mai was sent to two different teachers before they made her visit the Dean. She found out Karasuno had two gyms - a small one and a big one. Sport clubs had a schedule but usually indoor sports like volleyball and basketball shared the usage of the big one. Not surprisingly, they didn’t have a specialised gymnastics place.

However, after an official talk with an Olympic champion and at the prospect of a future Rhythmic gymnastics champion attending their school, they equipped a big enough space. 

It was adjacent to the bigger gym, practically a room glued to the back of the gym itself. There wasn’t a separate door, you had to enter through the main doors of the gymnasium. A foldable wall was the only division between the two spaces. 

As the dean escorted her to show her the aforementioned hall, he went on and on about the floor they installed, the price they paid, the lights, the keys and then on and on about things which Mai decided to politely ignore.

The sun warmed her legs as they exited the main school building and headed to the gym. She didn’t know if she would have a changing room so she changed clothes in one of the bathrooms and now she wore her usual training gear - a knee-high leggings, kneepads and a loose cropped t-shirt over an orange tank top. Her long orange hair was in a tight bun and she had a bag over her shoulder. 

The only thing she was missing was a hoop, but she would bring one tomorrow. She was already an hour late with training and it was making her anxious.

“I’ll tell you who has the keys to the doors. Only approved students can carry a key. Your coach informed us you’ll be coming for early practise before classes, so you’ll work it out with the other clubs.” Mai only nodded mutely to the explanations and followed the man. Just as they reached the open metal doors, a loud argument was heard in the air. Mai sighed as she recognised her brother’s voice.

“What’s the commotion, volleyball club?” Asked the dean. “You’d better not be fighting.”

There he was, her brother, the shortest one in the room and the loudest. There were four other boys, three of them wearing proper jerseys, while the other one, just like Shouyou, wore the standard gym uniform of the school. This tall boy seemed extremely familiar to Mai.

Shouyou, unsurprisingly, didn’t acknowledge the new arrivals or even his senpais’ panic. With the tall first year, they started a passing competition, whatever that was, while she moved to stand next to the dean and the other boys. Her brother was delaying her training even more and it started to annoy her. 

And of course they had to make the dean furious. Mai winced when he called the captain aside. Though, she couldn’t deny she had to bite her lips in order to hold in her laughter when the dean’s wig flew.

Time seemed to fly as the dean called the captain of the volleyball team aside. A few hushed words and a lot of bowing later, the dean took his leave while the two first year boys were kicked out. 

Mai had to admit, as she watched with a complete neutral expression as her brother got exiled from the very reason he breathed, they deserved an even worse punishment. She was so late with her training now.

“Excuse me.” Mai cleared her throat.

The three older boys suddenly turned to her as if just now noticing her existence. 

“We’ll be sharing this gym from now on. I was told you have a key and I need to speak to you about my morning training sessions. My name is Hinata Mai and I’ll be in your care. It’s nice to meet you.” She finished with a respectful bow.

The three boys blinked before they also introduced themselves. Daichi Sawamura - the captain, Sugawara Koushi - the soft looking silver-haired vice captain and Tanaka Ryunosuke - the bald, loud one, who blushed at her and stuttered.

“Yes, Hinata-san, we were informed you’ll be using the adjacent space from today. You are a gymnast, right?” Sugawara inquired politely. 

Mai nodded and adjusted her bag on her shoulder.

“Wait a second” Tanaka started, rubbing his chin. “Hinata Mai… Hinata... orange hair… short...”

Mai sighed. She knew what would follow. 

“Are you related to that Hinata?!” Tanaka yelled and pointed at the closed metal door. He was quickly hit and scolded by Sugawara. 

“We are twins.” Explained shortly the girl. She took the sheet of paper which Daichi gave her. It was the schedule of the gym. 

“The sliding wall is easy to move, but heavy so if you ever need help, don’t hesitate to tell us. A space full of teenage boys can get a little noisy, we hope we won’t be interfering with your training.” Daichi listed off. He turned to Sugawara, as if to ask for help.

Sugawara smiled warmly and led the way to the training area which was Mai’s. He showed her how to open it completely and how to close it. 

“Don’t worry about any of the boys. If someone ever makes you feel uncomfortable, just tell me or Daichi and we’ll take care of it.”

Mai thanked them with another bow and finally was able to start stretching. It was like breathing fresh air after a long time of being stuck in a steamy bathroom. Her muscles craved the feeling. 

She could hear Sugawara-san and Daichi-san saying something to Tanaka. She could hear the ball, the squicks of their shoes, the power of their jumps, but it all was background noise as she warmed her body in the familiar by now routine. 

She imagined how pissed Shouyou was right now. He was probably steaming outside of the gym door or he was desperately trying to peek in through the windows… She smiled contently as she fell into an over split. 

* * *

Getting lost in the pull of her muscles and the strain of pirouettes, the twirl of the ribbon and the hard spin of the clubs was an everyday life for her. She would repeat the same routine again and again and again, until she couldn’t breath or her legs were numb.

The hours blurred in her head and before she knew it darkness has set outside. As she stopped to catch her breath Mai could hear the boys on the other side of the foldable wall getting ready to leave. This meant she had to also leave the gym. 

Mai sighed deeply and took a large gulp of water. By orders of her coach she didn’t drink much during practice sessions, but at the end it was inevitable. She used a towel to clean herself a little and then put away all the equipment she had used. 

By the time Sugawara-san came with a gentle knock and a big smile, she was ready to go. 

“How was your first day training in Karasuno?” asked Sugawara, grinning. She smiled back at him. Was it even possible to speak to Sugawara without smiling?

“It was good, even if I started a little late. Tomorrow my coach will come to superwise so I’ll get some real work done then.”

Suga hummed in thought as he closed the foldable wall completely and escorted Mai to the gym’s metal doors. She could just make out her brother’s hair in the distance, running away with another figure.

“It must be tough, having to train without the presence of a coach. We also have the same problem... ”

“Ah, I do have a full-time coach and a choreographer, however, they work with other gymnasts in a proper training center. Because of my choice to study here and not to travel to the center every single day we had to make some adjustments. They’ll come visit as often as possible and I’ll go there when needed. Video conference is also an option at the time being. ” Mai explained. The boys stared at her wide eyed.

“You have a coach AND a choreographer?!”

She nodded as she put her jacket on and looked around the gym properly. It was mostly empty, already cleaned and organized. 

“Yes, I do.”

“Maaan, and we can’t find a part-time coach...” Tanaka whined, kicking the air angrily. 

“Tanaka, Takeda-sensei is doing everything in his power to-” Sugawara was cut off by Mai’s soft voice and strong gaze.

“To fight despite the obstacles will only make your victory sweeter at the end.”

“Hinata-san...” trailed off Daichi. The young girl in front of them seemed extremely confident in what she had said. It made them pumped up to play, to train, to fight, to fly again.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go before my brother leaves me to cross the mountain by myself. See you tomorrow. Good night.” With one last respectful bow the short girl left with graceful steps and a gentle expression on her face. In the distance she heard Tanaka’s energized yelling about winning and she smiled to herself.

* * *

“And then whaaaam the ball hit him on the face and-”

“Shouyou, I was there when it happened.” Mai huffed annoyed as her twin retold the same story for the second time already. They were five minutes away from their house and Mai’s legs were crying because of the punishing pace she had to keep in order not to be too late for dinner. Shouyou seemed to hardly notice at all. 

“I can’t believe that stupid Bakageyama said he prefered to do everything by himself instead of playing with me.” Shouyou was angry and Mai completely got why. 

She wanted to go and kick this Kageyama for being an ass to her brother. Then she remembered her brother was just as dumb. Giggling to herself she let Shouyou wear her ear off with complaining and whining. 

He didn’t stop during dinner, he didn’t stop while she was drying her hair from her bath, he didn’t even stop when she plugged in her headphones to watch some recordings of her previous training sessions.

At some point he fell asleep in her room, on her carpet, his mouth open wide, his hands clutching a volleyball.

“Finally, silence.” Murmured Mai and stretched, standing up from her chair. She covered her brother with one of her soft blankets and then went to bed. 

Somehow, despite the awkward first day, despite the forthcoming hardships regarding her training and her brothers possible exile from the volleyball team, she was feeling rather excited for her first year in high school. 

She was just about to fall asleep when Shouyou twitched a little on the ground and grumbled something.

“Stupid Kageyama...”

Mai rolled her eyes and threw at him one of the soft toys that still graced her bedside. The small bear hit its target perfectly and Hinata stopped sleep-talking with a grunt. Mai just hoped her brother would get his shit together soon, or she’ll have to do it for him.


	2. ii

The sheer determination Kageyama and Shouyou shared should be enough to make them click together fast. That’s what Mai thought as she watched the boys practice at five thirty am the next morning. The wall between the two training spaces was wide open per request of the girl.

She was doing her stretches, using a chair to properly bend her leg in a way that had made Tanaka-senpai and Kageyama wince. In the beginning Shouyou had joined her. Her brother was rather flexible because since he was little he would often try to imitate the exercises she was doing. Up to this day he would regularly do yoga and stretching with her. 

Not to be updone, Kageyama tried to do the splits and almost injured himself. 

“Don’t try to ruin your legs, Kageyama-san, you are a setter right? A flexible waist would be of great help to you.” Mai had said when she saw him pout. For a second all the boys just blinked at her silently. 

The moment was cut short by the arrival of Sugawara-san. Apparently he had a radar for when people try to be secretive.

Instead of scolding them, the third-year did his best to help. At that point Mai retreated to her own area and concentrated. 

Of course, she heard the commotion when the other players arrived later in the morning. However, even a team full of hormonal teenagers wasn’t enough to break her out of her mindset when she steps on the carpet.

“Mai-chan, you’ll be late for your first class, come on.” At some point Sugawara-san came to tell her classes were about to start. But she didn’t hear him.

Sugawara watched for a while as the girl twirled on one leg, while the other was pointed straight to the ceiling. He had no idea how she could turn so many times in this exact position but she made it look as if it was extremely easy. 

He wondered how could two siblings, twins at that, be so different from one another. Mai was extremely graceful and soft-spoken, while her brother was clumsy and loud. 

“Mai-chan! Come on.” This time he clapped his hands in order to break the spell she was in. It worked, the girl stumbled and looked at him in surprise. 

“Sorry, Mai-chan, but classes are starting soon. You’ll be late.” 

At that moment Sugawara decided, that perhaps, the Hinata twins were more similar than different. As he watched the small girl run in circles in sheer panic, not knowing what to do first, with the same wide eyes her brother had, he couldn’t help but smile. This year was going to be interesting for sure.

* * *

Coach Anya was a storm strong enough to silence the whole gym by not even opening her mouth. She walked with her head held high, like she was stepping in a competition. She had a warm smile, but she didn’t show it often. Shouyou always said her face got stuck in a neutral state by the cold in her home country - Russia. 

She carried an aura of royalty and it was earned by hard work. She was a world champion numerous times, a national champion and a silver medalist in the Olympic games. Love brought her to Japan and she decided to continue as a coach there after she retired as an athlete.

Now, twenty years later, she was working with Japan’s national team and some candidates like Mai. The woman has had a big role in her training since the age of ten and under her strict regime and tutelage, Mai grew as a recognizable name in this sport not just in Japan but also around the world. 

A lot of hopes were put upon her slight frame and Mai prayed she was strong enough to carry all of them and not to crumble under the weight of it all.

When she arrived at Karasuno, right after lunch break, the gym was empty. The other sports’ clubs didn’t have a national federation behind their backs to excuse them from the few last periods of the day. 

Mai was already warming up when Anya entered with a confident stride. 

For the next four hours her world was only a symphony of “You can do it better! Again!”, “From the top!”, “Watch your leg!”, “What are you doing, girl?!” and her favourite “Nyet, use your head and think. Again!”. Anya was strict, her words were like knives sometimes, sharp and on the verge of making you bleed. However, Mai was well aware it was all for her sake. 

Perfection was what she strived for and it was unreachable without the hard work and the painful sessions.

“Good, good girl. See, you can do it. Believe in your body. You have good abilities, you train hard, you are good, Mai, more than good. Know yourself better.”

Mai was breathing hard, clutching a towel in one hand and a water bottle in the other. She blushed a little at the praise of her coach. She often had trouble accepting compliments. The familiar accented words, heavily mixed Japanese-English and Russian were comforting. She knew Anya would never lie or talk unnecessarily, so every compliment coming out of her mouth was sincere.

After some more instructions, Anya had to leave. Mai would stay some more to practice. She took a ten minute break to escort Anya. The volleyball team was in the middle of receiving exercises and when the two of them opened the folding door, at first, nobody noticed them.

Mai and Anya walked on the sides of the court, not getting in the way. Mai was still trying to catch her breath, her chest moving rapidly up and down with her harsh breathing. Her legs were throbbing but she was ready for at least one more hour of training. 

By the time they reached the door. The boys had seen them. Everyone were staring at the foreign woman who carried herself ‘as an empress’ as Shouyou often said. 

Anya looked at them and nodded respectfully. A good athlete always had to respects other athletes, regardless of the sport they play or the level they are at. Hard work is hard work and had to be valued. 

The boys bowed back and then resumed their practice by Daichi’s command. Her brother’s orange head was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

When she left the gym for the evening it was dark outside. She felt good and fulfilled by today’s work. She bowed goodbye to the boys of the team and went to search for her brother so they could go home.

The school grounds were mostly empty. The few students she encountered were in a hurry to leave after long club activities. 

Finally she was able to spot Shouyou and Kageyama close to the baseball courts. She noticed they weren’t alone. A tall blond first year was with them, along with a dark haired boy. The situation didn’t seem friendly at all and Mai started running in order to reach faster. 

Just as she came to stand next to her twin, Kageyama had caught the blond boy by the collar of his shirt. Shouyou and the other new face tensed. “Tsukki” came up as the name of the now smirking blond. 

Mai elbowed Shouyou in the ribs and hissed a quiet “What’s going on?”. He didn’t get a chance to respond because Kageyama let Tsukki go and took his bag. Mai and Shouyou looked at each other in surprise. 

From what she knew about the dark-haired setter from Shouyou, he wasn’t one to back down easily. 

“Let’s go.” Kageyama said and slowly moved away. Mai headed over to him, adjusting her bag over her shoulder.

“Um.. hey!” Shouyou exclaimed confused. The Tsukki picked up the discarded ball from the ground and continued his taunting.

“Running away? I guess the king isn’t what he’s cracked up to be.” Mai saw how Shouyou glared at these words. The tall blond-head continued “Maybe I’ll win against the king this Saturday, too.” He said as he tossed the ball in the air.

Shouyou used that moment to make himself known. Mai stopped where she was next to Kageyama, making the boy turn around too. They watched as her brother jumped high and caught the ball mid-air. Mai couldn’t help but smile at Tsukki’s shocked expression. She had an awesome bro.

“Shut up with the ‘king’ crap.” Shouyou demanded with clear annoyance. “I’m here too!” 

The dialogue went on with Shouyou promising to spike the ball over the giant’s head at the match. Mai admired how brave he was. She should learn from him. 

Tsukki didn’t seem too phased with the threat and then he had to go and personally offend Hinata Shouyou by calling volleyball just ‘a club activity’. Mai winced in sympathy for her brother. Volleyball was Shouyou's soul and he would never be able to understand people like Tsukki.

It turned out that Tsukki was actually Tsukishima Kei and his friend’s name was Yamaguchi Tadashi. They proclaimed themselves as teammates and enemies, and honestly, Mai may already be in high school, but boys were stupid.

“Man, those guys totally give me the creeps.” said Shouyou as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi walked away. “We’ll pummel them to the ground!” Her brother exclaimed with determination.

“I don’t need you to tell me that.” Kageyama calmly said back and turned around towards the main exit of the school.

“Hey, where are you going?” Shouyou, obviously, had other plans. “We’re not done yet.” he finished by offering the ball.

Mai’s eyes widened. “Shouyou! What?! Let’s go home!” She wanted food and a hot bath. Going home alone was not an option and it didn’t even cross the twins’ minds. 

“Sorry Mai. Help us.” She glared at him and he had the decency of actually looking guilty. “Please. I’ll take your turn at washing the dishes tonight.” Mai nodded to that. She knew a good deal when she saw one. She hated doing the dishes.

Also, she knew how important that was to Shouyou and despite her tiredness and hunger, she was going to do everything to be helpful. He deserved it more than anyone. So she sighed deeply and dropped her bag on top of Kageyama’s on the ground. Shouyou grinned and ran to hug her before he pushed the ball in her hands.

“Toss to us, please.”

* * *

The following days were a repeating schedule. The twins would leave the house while it was still dark outside. Early mornings were definitely not uncommon for the two siblings. 

They would ride their bikes over the mountain, the sun greeting them at some point. It was peaceful, quiet and calm, the air felt fresher than usual. The colours of the sunrise were beautiful and Mai always found a different shade of orange hidden in the clouds. 

Once at school, Mai and Shouyou would stretch properly, preparing their muscles for the day of physical activity. Kageyama joined them sometimes, strictly following Mai’s careful instructions on easy beginners stretching as not to injure himself.

Afterwards, the boys would help Mai with the folding wall and then she would retreat behind it while they continued on with Sugawara-san and Tanaka-senpai. 

When it was time for classes, someone from the volleyball team would come and tell her it was time to go. She would put on her uniform in a hurry and then run to her first class. 

Sadly, falling asleep in class had become part of the routine and that didn’t help at all the already not perfect situation with their grades. 

After lunch she would go and start her official training for the day. She was lucky to be excused from some of the classes because otherwise she couldn’t keep up the level that was required of her. 

Anya would come three days of the week and superwise her. The other days they would either do video connection or Mai would do a solo training. 

Training after the training was also a thing now and sometimes she would just nap under a tree, try to actually study, while other times she would help with tossing. 

Rain didn’t stop them, pain and fatigue didn’t stop them, and so, every morning they would chase the sun, pedaling over the mountain and admiring the sunrise with gritted in determination teeth. 

Her brother proved himself to Kageyama and even got to spike a toss. She wasn’t there to witness it, but she heard the excited yell and then the scream when her twin threw up. He had always had problems with his stomach when he was nervous. 

She let her ribbon fall to the ground and went to help the boys clean up. On the way she grabbed her water bottle and gave it to a sick-looking Shouyou with the instruction to wash it properly afterwards. 

“Is he going to be okay?” Tanaka-senpai asked worriedly, running from the equipment room with a washcloth. 

“Yeah, yeah. He’ll be fine.” Mai assured, patting her brother on the head. He grumbled and shoved her away, standing up. Pretty obviously he was embarrassed when he bowed in apology, loudly proclaiming how sorry he was. Sugawara waved him off with a smile, but Kageyama scowled.

“You’re stupid.” Stated the dark-haired first year. Hinata sputtered in objection. 

“Hey!” 

“Well, you are.” Mai agreed with ease and went back to her training space, leaving behind a loudly protesting Shouyou.

* * *

Finally, Saturday had come. That was the one day for Mai which was completely practice-free. At least on documents. She didn’t have Anya scheduled on Saturdays, she didn’t have any practice room booked, it was supposed to be her day off, her time to rest. 

Usually, she would still stretch, do some yoga, do some ballet and maybe go for a jog. That Saturday, she woke up early with Shouyou to go and watch the game which was going to determine his future on the volleyball team. 

Over the years he had always supported her so she didn’t even hesitate to do the same for him. Because it was a no-school day, they could forgo the uniforms and Mai chose to put on a matching with Shouyou’s white and red tracksuit. Their mom had a thing for buying them matching clothes since they were little. They rarely minded.

It was cold, probably the coldest day of the week so far and Mai could see their breath as it touched the freezing air.

The two twins ran like mad when they locked up their bikes. Shouyou was faster, sprinting forward, powered by sheer determination and hunger for volleyball. Mai was behind him, mostly grinning like crazy, loving to see her brother so pumped up.

They passed by Kageyama, who was wearing a blue tracksuit. As Shouyou overtook him like the wind, Kageyama yelled after him “Wait up, Hinata-boke!”

Mai laughed out loud and tried to move even faster. She should probably feel offended as ‘Hinata-boke’ could pretty much include her too, but she could only laugh.

When they reached the gym, Tanaka-senpai was already there. Shouyou collapsed on the ground on his back, Kageyama sat down heavier than a mountain and she had to rest on her hands and knees to catch her breath.

Tanaka-senpai was saying something but she couldn’t hear it over the ringing in her ears. Then, she was sure Kageyama and Shouyou were discussing who won the run and how it was a draw. At some point her twin and Kageyama were able to even stand up. Ah, she was feeling lazy today.

“I’m dying.” Mai dramatized in a whiny tone. She could jump immediately and move on, but it was her day off. Also, she just did her best to run nose-to-nose with her brother and that was exhausting. So instead she sprawled in the dirt and gazed at the light-blue morning sky.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi arrived, the four boys were having a moment over her body. Nobody paid her any mind and she decided that yes, boys were really stupid. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey! Thank you for reading! Feel free to comment and leave your opinion.
> 
> Suga adopting all the Hinatas is what I live for. Also, the forming trio of Hinata one, Hinata two and a Kageyama is going to wreck havoc and we all know it. No explanations needed.   
> Coach Anya will be getting a lot of characteristics of Eastern European gymnastics coaches. But milder in a way, if this makes sense :D 
> 
> I think the updating schedule for this will be Fridays.
> 
> Have a great weekend! :)


	3. iii

“You should ease your body in slowly. Never lose feeling of your muscles, embrace the tension and the pulling but be careful. What is it telling you - to stop or to go on?”

Mai was sitting in a full side split in front of Kageyama on the hard wooden gym floor. The boy was stretching, attempting to copy her to the best of his abilities, but he needed a lot of work before he went there. Shouyou could fall into splits easily enough. Mai hopped Kageyama didn’t take this as a challenge because it could become dangerous pretty fast. 

The gym door opened suddenly and the metal squeak made Mai jump a little.

Kiyoko-san entered the gym and everyone, including her brother, admired her. Mai had a girl crush on Kiyoko, she secretly wished to be as cool as her one day. The way she ignored the obnoxious boys, the way she spoke - little words with a lot behind them, the way she was so cool and well, cool. 

The only person who didn’t seem affected was Kageyama, but Mai was sure his only ever crush was volleyball so that was understandable.

Daichi announced the teams and they got ready to play. Mai moved to stand next to Sugawara-san. 

Tsukishima, of course, had to taunt his opponents. This seemed to really fire-up Tanaka-senpai. In fact, he was fired-up enough to actually take off his shirt after he scored the first point. 

“Eeeh, volleyball is more eventful than gymnastics.” Mai muttered under her breath. She watched with amusement as everybody scolded the bald boy. The disturbed look on Tsukishima’s face was totally worth it.

The next few points were not good for Shouyou and his team. Kageyama managed a very good serve after Yamaguchi’s mistake but that led to a fail because of Shouyou’s bad receive. 

Then, Tsukishima started a topic-tabu, as the twins would come to name it. Kageyama and his nickname - King of the Court. 

Obviously it was a heavy subject for the boy. In fact, from personal experience, Mai was sure it was more than heavy. It was weighing him down, it was his shadow, one he had to carry all the time.

Tsukishima, though, either on purpose or unknowingly, continued to poke his finger in this open wound.

Mai hated it when people couldn’t just mind their own business. 

“Hey-” She started to cut in at the same time as Tanaka-senpai. Her voice got stuck in her throat as Sugawara-san put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“No, Mai-chan.” She noticed Daichi had stopped Tanaka. This gave free way to Tsukishima. 

“He made a toss but no one jumped-” Tsukishima’s remark was cut short by Kageyama himself.

“You are right.” He explained the truth, how frightening it was to make a toss and nobody to be there. By the tone of his voice it was clear that this was truly scary. 

However, Shouyou had something to say about this. Her ray-of-sunshine brother and his over the top resolve and sincerity turned things completely over their head and Mai had to bite her lip to hide the huge grin spreading on her face. 

Kageyama looked constipated while her twin was pretty much pouring motivation out of the depths of his pure soul and it was just hilarious to watch. Tsukishima wasn’t amused for sure.

Not even a minute later, Mai saw her brother fly for the first time in a while. He was spectacular in the air, as always. He barely hit the ball, but it still made it over the net, even if it was an out. 

“Shouyou, Kageyama! Good job!” Mai exclaimed happily almost vibrating in place from excitement for her twin. Sugawawa would have probably chuckled if he wasn’t still too shocked to react properly.

Shouyou grinned as he heard her and paused his speech to address his sister “Did you see us, Mai?” After her rapid nodding he faced Kageyama again and continued talking seriously. 

“I’ll take any toss I can get. Gratefully. I’ll jump anywhere. I’ll hit any ball. So… Toss to me!” 

The hit was rendering everyone speechless until Tanaka-senpai broke the silence, asking about quick hits or something. Mai was just as confused as Shouyou and Kageyama.

“Shouyou is powered on pure instinct most of the time.” Mai shrugged her shoulders. It was a fact. 

Kageyama expressed his concern that with no proper coordination, a fast attack is impossible. 

At the forbidden word ‘impossible’ the twins grimaced. ‘Did he just say “impossible”?!’ the same thought passed through both of their minds. 

Before they could stop their mouths from moving, they blurted out at the same time. “Nothing is impossible. Hard doesn’t mean impossible!”

Many pairs of eyes were switching between the two siblings. Mai put a hand over her face in embarrassment, while Shouyou scratched his neck awkwardly. 

“Ha!” Tanaka-senpai pointed at them “You do that thing! Speaking together! Can you read your minds?” Tanaka’s gaze was becoming more intense by the second and Mai moved to stand slightly behind Sugawara-san.

“Tanaka, shut up.” Ordered Sugawara-san. Shouyou used this moment to go back in track with the problem. He waved his finger accusingly at Kageyama, then Tsukishima got involved with his king crap. 

Although, what got Mai truly mad was when the tall blond boy directly said in Shouyou’s eyes that he was not cut out to be a spiker.

Mai’s brow twitched in annoyance and she took some big steps forward, ready for a fight. She never stood up for herself physically, she strayed away from violence. 

However, there was one big exception - when her brother was involved. She would kill for him and this Tsukishima was going to be her first victim. 

Sugawara-san had to grab her by the elbow to keep her in place. From the corner of her glaring eyes she noticed Daichi-san doing the same to Tanaka-senpai. 

“That’s true.” Shouyou agreed and with his calm tone all the fight left her. She relaxed and listened as Shouyou explained how he wasn’t tall like all the other volleyball players, how his height was his greatest disadvantage, but also his strength. 

‘Typical of us Hinatas’, Mai said inwardly, ‘we dont let nothing stop us, not even our own bodies.’

“To break the wall in front of the spiker.... That’s the setter’s job” Kageyama proclaimed confidently. He stepped next to Shouyou, standing tall and unmoving. 

And just like that it all clicked in place. Shouyou and Kageyama were spectacular to watch, even if they were all raw edges that needed a lot of polishing. They made each other stronger.

In the next thirty minutes, the first year weird duo managed to actually win, of course, with the unreplaceable help of Tanaka-senpai. 

“It was all like ‘phaw’ and then you went ‘ghaw’! Your eyes weren’t even open! Then you broke your face on the ground like ‘phwaam’!” Mai was jumping around Shouyou, who forgot how tired he was and joined his sister in cheering after the game. The twins sported identical grins of happiness and most of the words coming out of their mouths at the moment sounded incomprehensible to everyone else. 

Kageyama looked at them from his place near the net and shook his head. 

Shouyou, bless his soul, decided it was needed to go and shake hands with Tsukishima. With surprisingly little convincing, he took a protesting Kageyama to the other first years with Mai tagging behind them.

Tsukishima ignored the offered for a shake hand. Shouyou tried to come up with an excuse, involving the third-years and how they could be kicked out if they didn’t show a little sportsmanship. That was a weak argument and Mai knew it wasn’t going to hold against the tall blond boy.

“The reason why you two got kicked out was because you ignored the captain, started your own competition,” Tsukishima started listing off “and finally, blew the dean’s rug off his head.” 

“That’s true.” Mai agreed out loud which earned her two dark glares. She sweatdropped and did a short bow of apology.

Shouyou shook his head and returned his attention to Tsukishima. “Shake hands!” Her brother demanded and jumped at the other boy. Tsukishima managed to evade him. The whole thing was going good for Tsukishima until Mai decided to help her twin.

She threw herself on Tsukishima’s back, locking her legs around his waist, efficiently setting him off-balance. 

“Oo-ooi! What are you doing?!” Tsukishima demanded in surprise. On instinct he dropped his water bottle and his hands came up to hold her legs. She laughed in his ear, marveling at the change of view from this height. 

“Double Hinata attack!” Shouyou yelled and finally managed to grab one of Tsukishima’s hands and shake it a few times. Tsukishima, who was too preoccupied trying not to fall over with the extra weight on his back, just accepted his fate with a grimace.

On the sidelines, Yamaguchi and Kageyama were looking on with wide eyes. In their heads they made a note not to underestimate the power of the two siblings.

* * *

At some point Mai went to do some barre exercises, nothing too much, she just wanted to burn off some energy. Apparently, she missed the moment when the boys got their own jerseys and when a teacher came to announce a practice match next week. 

By the time they headed home, the day has mostly gone. The sun was setting behind the mountains and the clouds were starting to turn red and orange.

“It will be my first game with a proper team!” Shouyou was happy and excited. 

“But why would they want Kageyama as the setter for the match?” wondered Mai. The twins were pushing their bikes slowly down the road. Tanaka-senpai and Daichi-san walked next to them, lost in thought. Kageyama was also a silent presence.

“Sugawara-san said he didn’t mind...” Shouyou trailed off uncertain. In the distance, they saw a silver-haired figure walking in a leisurely pace some distance ahead of them.

Kageyama gasped quietly and started running down the slope.

“Eeeeeh!” Both cried out. “Should we catch up with him?” They asked at the same time, staring at their surprised upperclassmen. 

“You two can be so creepy.” Tanaka-san complained. He grunted when Daichi-san hit him over the head but didn’t apologize. 

“No, let Kageyama speak to Suga.” Daichi said gently. He smiled at the two siblings and scratched his chin a little “Who wants pork buns? I’ll get you some.” The captain offered.

“Yes, please!” Shouyou and Mai yelled, once again in perfect sync. 

“Creepy.” Muttered Tanaka-senpai under his breath and avoided another hit from Daichi-san. 

Pretty fast they reached the two setters. The captain headed straight inside the shop they were in front of while Tanaka-san waved excitedly at Sugawara-san. Mai decided she wanted to take a look around the shop so she set her bike against the wall and skipped inside.

The owner looked scary with his bleached blond hair and piercings but he greeted her politely. She squinted at him warily and went to find Daichi-san. 

“Can I get the one with no onions in, please?” Mai asked politely. Daichi laughed a little and patted her head. She took that as a yes and moved to take a look into the candy section.

Five minutes later, after paying to the shady cashier, Daichi and Mai exited the store and gave the buns to everyone outside. She was peeking in the paper bag trying to choose what kind she wanted when she was startled by Tanaka-senpai and Kageyama who were for some reason ganging up on her brother.

She turned around fast and all kind of protest died in her throat. Shouyou was eating. Her bun. Daichi-san got it for her and he was eating it!

“Heeey, you idiot! That’s mine!” She pushed pass Tanaka-senpai and Kageyama and grabbed the steamy bun from her twin’s grasp. He whined in protest but couldn’t do much other than watch his sister eat the already bitten-into pastry.

All the ruckus angried the scary shop-owner and he came out to chide everyone. Mai immediately ran away, hiding behind Sugawara-san and Daichi-san who were glaring at their other three members. 

In the distance Tsukishima and Yamaguchi emerged and they were called to share the meaty treats with the rest of the team.

Shouyou moved to stand next to his sister, leaning in to take a bite from the bun. He seemed lost in thought as he chewed slowly and completely ignored her outcry and the loud shushing from the older boys.

* * *

“And then nii-chan went ‘blaaaahm’ and fell on his face in front of everyone!” 

Natsu gasped and then laughed. Mai had the task of putting her younger sister to sleep. The little girl requested a bedtime story and Mai delivered to her with high standards. 

“Did he cry?” Natsu was already in bed, under a heavy quilt dotted with stars and rainbows. Her eyes were getting heavy but she stubbornly denied any pull of sleep in order to hear more about the exciting day her nii-chan and nee-chan had.

“Nope” Mai shook her head and with the biggest grin she could have she jumped on the bed right over Natsu. “He didn’t cry at all! Not even when he missed the points or the recieve!”

“Then what’d he do, huh?” The small orange-head was trembling, getting more pumped up than sleepy. 

Mai gasped theatrically and stood on the edge of the bed. “He flew like ‘whaaaah’!” She jumped the short distance to the ground, mimicking a spike hit. “He was so high and everybody were impressed!”

“Eeeeh! Nii-chan is awesome!” Natsu admitted dreamily. Her small fists clutched her quilt.

“Yeah, he is! Natsu, he’s going to be the next Little Giant!” Mai continued. She sat on the ground cross-legged. 

“Do you know why he is so amazing?” Asked Mai, this time calmly with a gentle tone. She extended a hand to caress her sister’s hair.

“Why?” 

“Because he is having so much fun! If you are having fun you can reach everything!”

“Everything?!”

“Yes, everything-everything!”

“Even the stars?”

“Even the stars!”

“And the moon?”

“The moon, too!”

“What about…. what about the sun?”

“Pff, the sun is not even that far away. If you love what you do AND you have fun, you’ll go there super fast.”

“I want to go to the moon...”

“Then you will!” 

“Mrs Moonlight shining star lives there...”

“Aaaah, uuuh, yeah.”

“Nee-chan, tell me again about how nii-chan fell.”

“You got it. So, he is getting ready to hit the ball, Kageyama tossed it and Shoyo-”

Outside the slightly ajar door Shoyo bit his lip to hide his smile. Maybe he should go and defend his honor, but his legs were frozen in place. He had the best sisters. Not that he’ll tell them. 

Mai was an athlete like him. She has faced competitions he could only dream about. She had National and World titles. Her room was full of golds and silvers and bronzes, and so many cups, medals, crowns and what not. He sometimes felt like she was walking ahead of him and leaving him behind.

She never bragged, she never once made him feel bad about not winning or not being good. She went to a game, knowing he would lose and still congratulated him on giving his all. She enrolled in a school despite the problems she had with her training center. She never stopped cheering. She never stopped believing in him.

Shouyou peeked through the gap in the door. He could see Mai sitting on the ground by Natsu’s head. His twin was threading her fingers through Natsu’s hair. Her words had taken a gentle intonation, her voice getting quieter and quieter every few words. He couldn’t see properly, however he was sure she was smiling gently as she talked about the three on three game from today.

Natsu was blinking in bigger intervals and he could tell the little girl would be asleep in less than five minutes. 

He was more than excited for what was to come now. He was officially in a team. They had their first practice match against a powerful school scheduled. His blood was boiling in his veins from the sheer thrill of it all. 

His dream was coming true. And he couldn’t wait. He couldn’t wait to share it with Mai the same way she shared hers with him since the first day she stepped in a training session for gymnastics. 

He wanted to share every moment of this journey with her, because if she admired him the way he admired her, then he was completely positive that his happiness will fuel her own. They were two parts of one whole after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Leave a comment on your way out, please :D
> 
> For the people celebrating - Happy St. Valentine's! For everyone - have a great weekend!
> 
> Mai and the first years are gonna be a tight group for sure, Sugamama watch out! :D


	4. iv

“Mai, heeeey, Mai.” Sleep was heavy on Mai’s mind but her brother’s annoying poking was winning over the blissful cloud of unconsciousness.

“Wut?” Mai murmured with half mouth, her face burying deeper in her pillow. In the darkness and with her half-open eyes she managed to spot Shouyou’s orange bulb of hair hovering over her.

Blindly she extended an arm out of her blankets in order to find her phone. The chill air hit her uncovered skin and she shivered. When she illuminated the area a little with light from the screen, she noticed the dark-circles underneath Shouyou’s eyes. He seemed pretty dead to the world, with a far-away look. The white big numbers from her phone showed it was way past midnight.

“Are you okay?” She asked even if she knew the answer. He was far from okay. His anxiety was eating him away. The practice match was tomorrow and for her brother, who has only had one official game so far, this was a whole new experience. He has always had the tendency to doubt himself, he always puts a lot of pressure on his shoulders and earlier today she witnessed the disaster during practice. Kageyama told her about the club-room accident.

The whole team was wondering if he was going to be alright for the match. Mai wanted to reassure them, however, she wasn’t completely certain herself.

Shouyou’s eyes were wide open and with a far-away look. It was like he was seeing right through her.

“Sho?” Mai called gently. She scooted over a little and made space for him. No prompting was needed. The boy fell over in the empty spot like a sack of potatoes. With a grunt Mai struggled to find a comfortable position. A single bed for two was a tight fit. But the twins managed it. 

“How do you go in with so much… uuh no fear?” Shouyou spoke in an even flat tone. Mai couldn’t see his face from her position, but she was positive he was burning holes in her ceiling.

Mai was still half asleep so she didn’t get what he meant. “Go where?”

“To win.” Was the simple answer and Mai sighed. 

“Well,” She started and rolled to her side. As if on instinct, he rolled over too and they were facing each other. “as you know” because he was there every single competition “I get nervous, like you. A lot.”

“You cried and almost peed yourself the first time.” Shouyou stated with the same flat voice, however his gaze looked more aware of things. He even had a ghost of a smile, and of course, it would be when mentioning the memory of six year old Mai having an emotional breakdown before her first ever real contest. Which she lost.

“Shouyou!!!” Mai gasped scandalized “You promised not to speak about this!” She shoved at his shoulder with a glare.

“Go back to your room if you’re going to be an ass.” She demanded.

In response, her twin grabbed her arm and hugged it. 

“I need to not fail, Mai.”

“Why?”

“Because the team is-”

“You know they won’t think any different of you regardless of how tomorrow goes, right?”

“...”

“Sho! How can you doubt them?! You are a team and-”

“But they are all good and I’m just-”

“Just amazing and raw-talented! You need work, but there isn’t one athlete who is born ready for gold. ”

“...Yeah, but-”

“Shh!” Mai hissed and pinched Shouyou on his nose. The boy yelped and pinched her too. After a minute or two of half assed wrestling and shoving they settled again. 

“You just be you, Sho. This is just the first game. Whatever happens, you’ll always only go up from there.” She hugged him hoping it was the same comforting embrace their mother uses whenever they feel distressed. 

“Thank you.” He murmured against her shoulder and clutched at her tightly.

“I know what can help. Let me get my phone again.” The light burned the depths of her sleepy soul but she persevered for Shoyou’s sake. Pressing the name she had in mind, she waited for the first signal and then handed the device over to a confused Shouyou. 

There was only one other volleyball obsessed freak who was, no doubt, a hundred percent awake at this hour before a match so she wasn’t feeling guilty for the time. After two rings she heard him pick up.

“Hello? Hinata-san?” Kageyama’s voice sounded unsure from the other side. 

“Uuuuh? Bakegayama?” Her brother stuttered and Mai rolled her eyes. Predictably, Kageyama exploded but she couldn’t make out exactly what he was spawning.

“Yes!” Shouyou gritted his teeth, now more irritated than dead. “It’s my sister’s phone! What’s it to you, huh?”

Mai wanted to facepalm at how stupid it all was. Shouyou and Kageyama shared one brain cell and sadly, it often took breaks on both of them.

“Yes! She called you. It wasn’t me!” More grumbling from the other side. Shouyou was relaxing unconsciously. He was still hugging her arm, but it wasn’t a dead grip and he wasn’t as tense. 

“I know I’m talking, but she called. Why are you even awake, stupid.”

It looked like her brother would be fine for the time being. Tomorrow he was probably going to crash anew, but right now he was better. Mai allowed her eyelids to close properly. Tuning Shouyou out wasn’t hard after years of practice. 

In a last act of coherence she covered her twin with the blanket and snuggled comfortably. He was still arguing about something with Kageyama and he even let her arm go so he could gesture around the air like a conductor of an orchestra. 

“You are being all introverted in bed, right? Hey, do you have a lot of volleyball posters? I do! Uh-huh, is this a volleyball I hear?”

She swimmed in this weird place in between sleep. She heard parts of the conversation, however it sounded far away. Somehow they managed to start talking about tomorrow’s classes before the game.

“Hey, didn’t we have math homework for tomorrow?” 

Mai’s eyes flashed open in seconds. She blinked rapidly as her blood ran cold. On the other side of the line Kageyama stayed silent. 

“Fuck.” All three of them said at the same time. Two whole pages of algebra were untouched. 

“Ugh.” Mai grunted and closed her eyes again. On the phone, the boys were already discussing who could run faster.

The girl sighed deeply and let the warmth of her brother and his familiar voice sooth her back to sleep. He was sounding more and more slurred, too, so she imagined he’ll follow in her steps pretty soon.

The last lucid thought through her mind was about if Shouyou and Kageyama were going to make a competition about who’ll fall asleep. They probably would.

They were dumb. Kageyama won, though. Five minutes after she started breathing evenly, Shouyou relaxed completely and stopped responding. 

“Did you fall asleep, boke? 42-41. And one draw.” he stayed quiet. He knew nobody was hearing him but he didn’t hang up immediately. “Don’t overthink stupid things, Hinata… night.” The line went silent. 

* * *

“He threw up on Tanaka-senpai AND managed to serve at the back of your head?! Woah!” Mai was impressed. Her brother was a capable boy, that was for sure. She was also secretly happy and relieved that the team stood by him and supported him, instead of isolating the boy as many high school boys would have done. 

“Oi, Kageyama, what are you saying to Mai?!” Shouyou came running towards them, yelling into the silent evening air.

“Only the juicy parts.” Mai quickly answered, not giving time to Kageyama to do more than scowl at her twin.

The three of them were hanging out in front of the gym. After coming back from their game, Shouyou went to get Mai so they could go home. Kageyama wanted to get something from the club room so he tagged along. 

From inside the gym Daichi’s dismissing call for the day was heard. After locking the place, the team took the road down-hill. Mai calmly listened to the recall of the first off-home match they had. Pushing her bike slowly, her bag resting on her shoulder, she walked side by side with Shouyou. 

“How was your evening, Mai-chan?” Sugawara-san asked as a change of topic when Tanaka-senpai tried to start the whole ‘serve-to-the-head’ thing for the third time. “Anya-san was here today, right?”

Mai smiled and nodded. “Yeah. I had a bad day for the hoop and the ball...” she trailed off. SHe could still hear Anya’s yells in her head - ‘Use your head! What are you doing?! Your brother can jump this better!’

“What is your favourite apparatus?” Yamaguchi inquired with quiet curiosity from behind the group. He was walking with Tsukishima some distance after them, but apparently not far away enough to not hear their conversation.

Mai hummed in thought. “The ribbon, probably. But really, all of them to some point.”

“Do you have any competitions? I know you are a serious level, with the personal coach and all the missed classes for training.” 

“Nationals were two months ago. She got two golds and a silver there. It was her debut as a senior, too. In a few weeks she has the Grand prix coming up and it’ll be her first one with the seniors.” For some reason. Shouyou decided to answer instead of her. He proudly listed off her recent achievements while she blushed lightly and started counting the pebbles on the ground her bike’s tire passed by them.

Tanaka-senpai’s response was the loudest but all of the boys did a double take.

“A national champion?! Mai-chan! Why haven’t you said anything?!” Tanaka shouted dramatically.

“Nationals.” Mumurded Kageyama, staring at the grey cement underneath his feet.

“Do you take a separate medal for each apparatus?” Tsukishima 

“Yeah...”

“We’ll go to Nationals too!” Shouyou exclaimed loudly. His remark was accompanied by a triumphant and confident fistbump in the air.

“Of course you will!” Mai agreed with her brother, grinning in an identical manner.

The group continued with a lively chatter until the familiar store came in view.

“Hey, who wants some dumplings?” Tanaka asked hungrily. Kageyama’s and Shouyou’s stomachs grumbled in tandem which made Tsukishima snicker. 

“Me” Came a loud cheer by Mai, Kageyama and Shouyou.

Tanaka quinted at them. He always felt creeped out when the Hinatas spoke at the same time, but it was extra freaky when Kageyama managed to join in.

* * *

“Where is your head today, girl?!” The shrill yell coming from Mai’s part of the gym echoed through the walls like a knife cutting cheese. All the boys tensed up almost on instinct at the loudness and the sharpness of the words.

“You do it again! And you’ll do it until you get it right!” 

Nishinoya, who was unfamiliar with the sharing arrangement of the gymnasion looked curiously at the folding wall. Behind it a dull music started playing, followed by the thud of something falling on the ground and the frustrated voice of a heavily accented words filled with anger. 

“What’s up over there?” The short second year asked. His previous furry at the mention of Asahi and the accident was temporarily forgotten. 

“Hinata’s twin sister trains there. She is a gymnast.” Suga answered simply.

“Again! From the top!” Anya was heard again before the music started anew. 

“It sounds intense.” Nishinoya commented. The music was really faint and he was sure it wasn’t usually heard over the team noises when they train. 

“I haven’t heard Anya-san so fired up before.” Tanaka mentioned. His eyes were darting between the wall and Shouyou. The orange-haired first year was silently clenching his fists and glaring at his feet.

Shouyou could imagine his sister’s pain and self-frustration so well, he was almost certain he was actually feeling it. He was present to a few of her worst practice sessions and it sounded like this one was heading right there in the classation really fast. 

He knew Anya was this strict for a reason. He knew his sister could take the pressure. But he also knew what it costed her - the self-doubt, the sleepless nights, the sore muscles and bleeding wounds. 

“Mai-chan works so hard. It inspires me to give even more to volleyball.” Suga said. His comment shifted the atmosphere a little and Shouyou relaxed an ounce. He nodded in agreement. The Little Giant was his idol, but his sister was the main driving power of his motivation sometimes.

“See. When you want to, you can do it. Now again, this time more smile.” This time Anya was talking with a normal tone and it wouldn’t have been heard by Shouyou if he hadn’t moved to stretch right in front of the door of the foldable wall. 

As the rapid notes of what he was sure was Mai’s clubs routine music picked up volume for the nth time in the last twenty minutes, all tension left Shouyou’s body. 

He let his torso meet his outstretched legs and breathed deeply three times. With newfound energy and a huge smile he jumped up and completely ignoring Kageyama’s questioning gaze, the boy ran out of the gym in search of Nishinoya. 

He discovered that senpai was a magical word and that more people spoke his and Kageyama’s language.

* * *

In the evening, two hours after Anya has left for the day, Mai finally departed from her space. She was still in her training clothes - the shorts, the tank top, the knee pads, her hair still in a bun which was quite messy after all the hours of twisting and twirling around. 

Her bag was hanging from her shoulder along with a towel. She had a red flush to her skin and a smile graced her blushed face the moment she spotted her brother and his friends.

“Good job, guys.” She called in greeting. Complimenting hard work was a habit by now. 

“Same to you, Mai-chan.” The boys responded. Mai went to stand next to Shouyou and the two twins had a mini shove-around as a welcome. Tsukishima clicked his teeth in annoyance at the impromptu sibling poking contest and pushed them forcefully apart by their heads when they started entering his personal space way too much.

“They are really twins!” Observed with a joyful surprise Nishinoya. Mai just then noticed the new face. Her shyness kicked in and she immediately quietened down. People often expressed their wonder at how similar they looked. For different gender twins the similarities were striking. 

The main differences were their hair - Mai’s being straight and long, while Shouyou’s was uncontrollable mess on his head, and recently, their build. Even if for the moment they were identical in height, they were starting to develop in a different way. Shouyou was starting to form muscle mass in places where Mai wasn’t and didn’t need to. On her part, her frame was forming as that of a female. 

“Nice to meet you.” Bowed Mai formally and wondered if Shouyou was happy because finally someone was on his level height-wise. 

Noticing her mostly naked legs and arms, Nishonoya blushed slightly as he introduced himself. 

“Excuse me, I need to get changed and then we can go, Shouyou.” With a last bow and a smile the girl exited the gym, leaving a charmed Nishinoya behind.

* * *

“How was your training today, Mai-chan?” Shimizu was still someone who intimidated Mai. The younger girl admired her senpai and she felt honored every time the third-year spoke to her. 

With a slight nervous smile she answered honestly. “It was a hard day. The clubs weren’t cooperating and I was very messy, but I always feels self-fulfilling at the end of such day.” 

The boys were doing last clean up inside. Mai was sitting on the steps at the entrance, watching after Shouyou’s and Kageyama’s bags. Her hands and legs were aching. The evening air was refreshing on her skin. She was already in her school uniform and she took Shouyou’s black uniform blazer as she forgot hers at home that morning.

Shimizu hummed and wished her a good evening before she left to get her things and go home.

Mai stayed under the darkened sky alone for a while. The gym’s door was wide open but the noise seemed far away for some reason. She wished there wasn’t a roof over the stairs so she could see the first stars. 

She was feeling exhausted and she was sure if she was to get more comfortable on the hard ciment she would fall asleep in minutes. The half hour bike ride over the mountain seemed impossible.

Perhaps she had actually dozed off for a second because a sudden tap on her head startled her. She jumped a little in place and tilted her head back. She met Tsukishima’s eyes behind his glasses. His face was like always unreadable. Yamaguchi was next to him. He was smiling kindly at her, silently apologizing for Tsukishima.

The tall boy had used a thin notebook to bob her on the head. “You are standing in the way.”

Mai rolled her eyes and moved so they could pass. Yamaguchi left a warm goodbye while Tsukishima only half-waved at her not even facing her. Mai rolled her eyes again and was sure to yell an extra special goodbye to the tall blond.

“Bye-bye Tsukki! Rest well but don’t get taller!” 

Tsukishima’s half-assed wave was about to turn in a rude gesture if Yamaguchi didn’t pull him along and away with a laugh.

A short while later, the two extra bags were pulled off her lap. She glanced at Kageyama as he shouldered one and tossed Shouyou his. “Are we going?” She asked quietly. Both boys nodded in confirmation and soon the three of them were heading right for the twins’ bikes.

“Nishinoya-senpai agreed to teach me how to receive properly.” Shouyou broke the comfortable silence. Mai hummed but didn’t say anything. Neither did Shouyou. There was no need, they understood each other well enough without words.

Getting their bikes and exiting the gates of the school happened in a practiced routine. The evening air was getting colder with every step they took. 

Ten minutes into their walk the siblings parted ways with Kageyama and mounted their bicycles.

Thirty minutes over the mountain in the dark and in the cold, overworking their tired muscles. Both their bodies were aching in various places. 

Just before they reached their house, Mai and Shouyou looked each other in the eyes and found the fire that kept them going. The sheer determination and willpower was stronger than the aching bones, the throb in the knees or the bruises on the arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'll be extremely happy to read your thoughts! 
> 
> I kind of hate how unfinished this is, but I really wanted to post it on Friday. I had a twelve hour work day and I can barely see straight, but here you are, more Hinata fluff and ruff.
> 
> Idk what else to say, if you want to ask me something, I'll be glad to answer.
> 
> Have a great weekend.


	5. v

“I want to see a real ace up close, Mai, Kageyama!”

Mai pursed her lips and eyed the staircase leading to the third years’ floor. Kageyama was a silent presence by Shouyou’s other shoulder. It was lunch break and for once the three of them weren’t sleeping or training.

Students were going around them either ignoring them completely or giving them a weird look. Finally, Kageyama was the one to take the first step and start going up the stairs. The twins followed close.

The hallway of the upperclassmen was almost completely identical to their own. The main difference was in the people. Third years seemed more mature, confident, bigger in a way that lacked in the first years. Being on the verge of adulthood was not a small thing. On some of the boards by the doors there were university posters, exam news, career options and a lot of various information which made Mai’s head spin. 

She decided to ignore it and instead peek in the classrooms they were going by. They were looking for a Asahi Azumane, who apparently was the ace of the volleyball team, until a big falling out with Nishinoya-senpai. 

Shouyou really wanted to meet a real ace and Kageyama may not admit it, but he was curious too. Mai was bored so she tagged along. 

Unknown how exactly, but the boys knew which class they needed to find. The trio stopped in front of the door and suddenly a wave of unrest overtook them. 

“You are the one who wanted to see the ace.” Kageyama said to her brother who gulped and tried to find an excuse.

At the end he went with the honest truth “B-But the third-year classroom is scary.” Mai nodded in quiet agreement.

Just then, Sugawara-san came out and called after someone. “Wait, Asahi!” 

“Asahi?!” Kageyama, Shouyou and Mai all reacted at the same time.

“What?” Asahi was tall. No, Mai thought, tall was an understatement. Tsukishima was tall, in fact, Tsukishima was taller, a lot of people were tall. Asahi was massive. It wasn’t height as much as it was his whole build. He had wide shoulders, big frame, all muscle it seemed. He had facial hair and it made him look older and scarier. 

The twins’ eyes widened and they ran to hide behind Kageyama. Their taller friend didn’t seem as fased and he provided a not bad hiding place.

Sugawara looked surprised to see them. “Huh? What are you guys doing here?”

After a short and messy, mostly stuttered explanation, Sugawara introduced them to Asahi.

“Our new members - Kageyama, Hinata Shouyou and his sister Hinata Mai, who is not a volleyball player but an excellent gymnast.” Mai blushed a little at the praise and bowed along with the boys.

As Asahi spoke to Kageyama and Shouyou, she noticed that he wasn’t that scary. He had warm eyes and a soft smile. He spoke evenly and in a nice tone. And for some reason he didn’t want to play anymore.

Mai listened to Sugawara-san as he explained part of Asahi’s backstory. She kind of got it, but at the same time she didn’t understand. Perhaps growing up with Shouyou as a complete opposite in mindset was the reason. A failure always made him more starved to prove himself. She hoped he kept that trait. 

She knew better than anyone that Shouyou and his team will face a lot of loss before they could embrace the wins. And if they weren’t strong enough, if  _ he _ wasn’t strong enough, it was going to be painful for all of them. 

* * *

Every time she had to be away from Shouyou for a long time, Mai felt ansty. It's not like they couldn't be inseparable. The older they got, the better they realised that they were walking their own path.

They may be twins but they were two different people, two individuals.They were used to spending every second together, it was like instinct, like breathing. They didn't even have to think about it. They were together in class, at home, their training spaces were relatively joined, the circumstances made it so they kind of had the same friend circle.

They may be two different people, but they were twins, they needed each other and they shared a special bond.

In recent years they did spend time apart, sometimes even a week or two. When that happened Mai always needed time to get used to the fact that her brother was not right by her. Often she would speak to him and then realize he was not there to answer. He would call at all times of the day because he needed to vent or just to ask where his socks were. She called to inquire about her hairbrush or which chocolate bar to buy.

So, when she was informed that she had to miss a day of school in order to go to her training center, her stomach filled itself with restless worry. It meant a day away, it meant being alone.

That morning, her bike stayed at home. When she got in her mom's car, Shouyou was just leaving. They shared a wave and a big smile. They may be apart but both of them had exciting days ahead.

Shouyou always went happy to practice. And she was going to find more information about her upcoming qualifications for GP and she was going to see the other girls. She was sure Anya had some group training planned for sure.

The whole day was filled to the brim, she barely had time to grab a few bites at in the early afternoon. That's when she saw a text from Sho.

'We have a coach!'

Warmth overtook her whole being. She imagined how Shouyou vibrated in excitement. She had the biggest grin on her face as she chewed her food. At the same time, a heavy feel of regret settled in her stomach. She wasn't there.

Thankfully she didn't have a lot of time to dwell on that as she was called on the carpet.

After a fully-packed day, a slight injury and finished documentation about the GP qualifications, she got on a train, then a bus and after an hour and a half she reached her school. The sun was starting to set, the gentle orange colour was playing with the white clouds.

Her right foot was aching and the strong pressure of the bandage was providing little relief as she limped in a fast step until she reached the gym. The doors were open and the commotion inside was big.

Curiously she entered and loudly greeted the boys.

“Hello! Listen, listen! I'm going to-” Mai wanted to tell them how her competition was going to be in Tokyo on the same day as their match, but the words got stuck in her mouth when she noticed the gym was filled with strangers. Men who she had never seen before, except one – the scary owner of the nearby shop.

When the small girl barged in with a joyous tone the noise of the boys died out. Shouyou grinned at the sight of his sister. Her hair was still in a bun on top of her head and she was wearing her national team jersey. Her bag hit the ground with a thud as it fell off her shoulder and as he followed it with his eyes he noticed the white bandages peeking out of her right shoe.

Completely unconsciously he started running towards her as she began talking. He was almost right next to her when her expression changed from happy to frightened.

“I'm going to call the police!” She stated with wide eyes, turning around to sprint out of the place.

In a fast reaction Shouyou caught his sister by the arm and kept her from running away. He was able to calm his twin, of course, with Suga's help. Once she understood the misunderstanding, she got flustered and stutteringly apologized to a sheepish Ukai-san and his friends.

“I wonder if twins share the same brain... Yours' seem to malfunction at the same time way too often.” Tsukishima offhandedly commented. He smirked when he got an identical scowl in return from two orange-heads.

* * *

By the time the match was over and Ukai-san’s friends went home, it was way past their usual latest tractice hours. 

Mai stood to the side a little as the boys were spoken to by their new coach. When the team was sent for cool off stretches, Daichi-san called her over with a silent wave.

Smiling, she joined in. 

“Mai-chan, is something wrong with your foot?” Tanaka-senpai asked as he noticed her reluctance to step on her right side. Everyone’s eyes were on her all of a sudden and she blushed.

“A-A-Ah, nothing serious, I just overworked the muscle today! It’ll be fine pretty soon!” the girl explained, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.

“Did the medic see it?” Her brother questioned with slight worry. He knew her tendency to overlook pain sometimes.

“Yup, he bandaged it, said it was all good. Oh, I almost forgot!” Mai exclaimed loudly. The boys, even Shimizu-san, leaned in slightly as if to hear a long awaited secret. “The GP this year is with pre-qualifications and they’ll be in Tokyo” Mai started with a sing-song voice. “The same day as your game! If the schedule stays the same for me, I’ll probably be able to see some part of it!”

“Yes!” Came Shouyou’s cheer. He hugged her and the two of them laughed sillily. 

Fueled by the twins’ energy, the team cleaned and put everything in order pretty fast. Everybody were strangely not looking tired, even if it was over eight in the evening after a full day of school, training and then a match.

The third-years left as a group, after bidding goodbye to their kouhai. The others departed noisily until it was only the first-years remaining at the main gates.

Shouyou was madly gesticulating something to Kageyama as the two of them walked ahead, her brother pushing his bike, while Kageyama kicked at some stones on the road. 

All of a sudden something made her stop dead in her place. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, who were right behind her stumbled in order not to run her over. “What are you doing, shrimp?” Tsukishima hissed annoyed.

She didn’t pay him any mind, though. “Sho!” She called. 

“Sho!” She called again and this time her twin turned around. “I don’t have my bike!”

His eyes got wide as realisation hit him. “Why?!”

“I took the train from the center and then a bus, and I walked, because the weather was nice… I’m so stupid!” She proclaimed and slightly hit her forehead with a fist.

“You said it.” Tsukishima butted in with a smirk. However, the tall boy stood in place and didn’t make a move to leave the others. Yamaguchi elbowed him in the ribs sharply but didn’t say anything.

“Shut it, Stingyshima!” Murmured Mai and Shouyou at the same time. The two of them then looked at each other and sighed deeply. 

“If we call mom, she’ll kill us.” Shouyou stated and drummed his fingers on his bike’s handles in thought. Mai winced in agreement. “Do you remember a few years ago? When we visited grandma over the summer break? And there was space only for one bike in the car?” Shouyou asked with a faraway look.

Mai nodded. “When we both got on and you drove us in the rice paddy? Yeah, you dislocated your shoulder and I hit my head pretty hard...”

The other three listeners stood struck to the side.

“Are we doing it?” The twins questioned themselves, voices merging together, weird grins shining on their faces. “We’re doing it!” They exclaimed and before anyone could react, Mai was awkwardly sitting on the rear rack, while her brother was mounting the bike.

“Are you sure this is safe?” Yamaguchi asked, letting his worry show. Tsukishima just observed silently.

“Not at all.” Mai admitted and tried to get more comfortable. 

“Don’t kill yourself or your sister, boke.” Was the only thing Kageyama said. He waited for Shouyou’s answering grin and the follow-back “Bakegayama”, before he took off.

“Tsukki, we can’t let-”

“Leave them be, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima demanded and started walking again, leaving behind the twins who were giggling over something. Yamaguchi followed reluctantly with a last glance at the two siblings. “I’m sure their brain cell will get them home just fine.”

Yamaguchi couldn’t help but snicker at that, despite his previous worried state. A few second later, a bike went by them slowly and Tsukishima stretched out his arm to tug on something. Shouyou protested loudly but the whole exchange was over in seconds.

As the bike disappeared from view, Yamaguchi noticed something - Shouyou’s bag was re-positioned in a way which made it completely visible on his back. The boy didn’t say anything but smiled to himself. Tsukishima had made sure that the white reflective material of the shorter boy’s bag was on display so any incoming cars from behind would see it. He did care in a way. Tsukki was awesome.

* * *

Going over the mountain so late at night with an added weight was grueling, but Shouyou didn’t complain even once. Mai apologised a few times but he always shushed her. He was still smiling widely, as was she. The events of the day still playing in their heads.

“We have to go only up from here, right?” Shouyou asked in between hard breaths as he peddaled fast. Mai scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. 

“We literally have to go down the slope to reach the-” The girl started but she was interrupted by her twin.

“No, I mean up like in-”

“Sho, just go down and be quiet” Mai said. Obviously, she didn’t remember her own words from a few nights ago. Her brother huffed and raised his voice with clear annoyance.

“You are not listening to me! I hate it when you don’t listen!”

“Well, you are talking nonsense, we are going down, not up!” Mai was getting frustrated, too. They were going down, was her brother blind?

“I meant in volleyball!” Shouyou yelled. A car passed them and Mai closed her eyes against the bright headlights for a second. It was silent again for a while.

“You are stupid” Mumbled Mai under her nose, burying her face against Shouyou’s back, right under his bag. 

“Not as much as you” Retorted her brother and once again they let the silence overtook them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave your thoughts in a comment ~~ ^^
> 
> I live for fluff and I always end up writing too much??
> 
> I canon that Mai and Shouyou do actually share a brain cell or two... Tsukki is awesome, bless. 
> 
> A slightly shorter chapter, hopefully next one will be longer. See you next Friday, stay healthy and happy!
> 
> NB! - I'm not an expert about rhythmic gymnastics or volleyball. I'm just an on and off fan. I did some research and if I wanted to really fit the actual real-life season of RG to a Japanese high-school year AND the events of Haikyuu... well, I couldn't really do it and make it flow easily, so I make up my own competition system, sorry to any professionals out there, I hope it's not too much of a monstrosity, but just look away, it's a fanfic, nothing much.


	6. vi

When Daichi and Sugawara entered the gym for morning practice that day, they stopped dead in their tracks at the door.

“Keep your heels on the floor, boys.” In the middle of the wooden gym floor, four colorful mats were sprawled in two rows. In the first line were Mai and Kageyama, and in the second - Shouyou and Yamaguchi. 

They were all touching the ground with their hands, bend at the hips, feet kept together. The twins have mentioned before that they do yoga together, Shouyou has shown a better than normal flexibility, however, Suga and Daichi were honestly surprised by how natural Kageyama looked. Yamaguchi also was doing seemingly very good.

“Now, slowly stand up and breathe deeply.” All four first years did as the girl instructed, some clumsier than others. “Spread your legs and arms to the side. We’re keeping it wrist to ankles as orientation.” After everyone were in position, Mai continued. “Your palms should be facing the ground. Good. Move your right toes ninety degrees, turn slightly your left toes, too.” 

Mai moved with ease, as if she was doing something as trivial as walking or sitting. Shouyou was not far behind her on fluidity. He even had the time to help Yamaguchi with his stance. They still haven’t noticed their senpais’ arrival.

“We breathe in, exhale and then we start leaning very slowly and carefully, bringing our right hand to the right leg’s shin, the bend should be at the hip.” The boys did as said. “Your left hand is now raised towards the ceiling. Take a deep breath in, then exhale.” A collective, controlled exhale was heard, then silence. All four of them had their eyes closed, left hand up, legs spread. Nobody opened their mouth for at least a minute, when Mai commanded in a soft and quiet voice for a change, now they were supposed to do the other side. Calmly, the three boys followed and in a short time, silence set in again.

Sugawara and Daichi looked at each other in wonder. This was the first time they have seen their orange-haired decoy so concentrated and quiet. There was not a single trace of his usual endless energy and loud, restless demeanor. 

The captain and vice captain broke from their stupor and entered the gym with measured steps. They greeted as usual, however as answer they got four lethargic and mellow “Good morning”. Daichi made a mental note to integrate yoga as mandatory training at least once a week. Perhaps it was going to do wonders for Tanaka, Nishinoya and the freak first-year duo. He had the first half in front of his eyes as a proof.

“Hinata was too giddy this morning.” Tsukishima’s voice startled the two older students. They haven’t noticed the tall blond. He was sitting to the side, on the ground, doing regular stretching.

“Which Hinata?” Suga asked, deciding that keeping a conversation going was a good way to mask his surprise.

“Both of them.” Tsukishima didn’t look up as he responded. Daichi sighed and moved to unlock the storage room so they could prepare properly the equipment. 

“And the other two?” Suga inquired curiously. He got down next to Tsukishima and started warming his muscles up.

Tsukishima sighed deeply. Obviously he wasn’t too pleased to have to communicate this early in the day, but he knew better than to be sassy with a third year. Suga at that. Nobody could be anything but polite and nice with Suga. It was an unwritten rule. 

“Yamaguchi was curious. I have no idea what Kageyama is thinking. When he is thinking or _if_ he is thinking at all.” Explained Tsukishima deadpan. Daichi, who was passing by with the ball cart snorted in agreement.

“Don’t say that!” Sugawara exclaimed. He stood up and put his hands on his hips. “Kageyama is very sensitive. You just don’t understand him.” Explained the older boy and turned to look at the younger setter. 

Mai and Shouyou were sitting on the ground in perfect splits. Mai was curling and then extending her toes, while her brother gave scattered instructions to their friends on how to safely stretch in this position.

Yamaguchi was having trouble with understanding the meaning behind ‘slowly like shhhuuwaah’ and ‘carefully like woaaaah’. On the other hand, Kageyama just nodded in understanding and managed to put his legs in the necessary manner.

“Woah! Very good, Kageyama!” Both twins praised at the same time, even clapping their hands. It was easily noticeable that their voices were returning back to their usual volume and tone. Gone was the serenity.

At the compliment, Kageyama bit his lip and sharply twisted his head to the side in order to hide his reddening cheeks.

“See!” Suga said. He pointed at the black-haired boy and pulled Daichi’s shirt to make sure he had his attention. “He is a soft boy!”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes and mumbled something about idiot kings under his nose. 

“Don’t let him hear you say that.” Daichi advised his silver-haired friend. “He’ll get all broody or spoiled. Or both.” Finished the captain in a thoughtful tone. He was about to say something else but he only got to open his mouth before he was cut off.

Shouyou and Kageyama had managed to make a new competition - who was able to do hold themselves the longest on their hands, body off the ground, while doing the splits.

“Oi! Stop it!” Yelled Daichi. “If you injure yourself before the match you’re running a hundred penalty tours of the whole school grounds!” The captain threatened. 

“Yes, sir!” Answered the two boys and didn’t cease their contest.

Yamaguchi immediately distanced himself from the duo, afraid he could get punished for just being next to them. Mai was continuing her stretching, completely oblivious to everything, now laying on her stomach and then raising her body over her head, folding herself in half. Daichi watched with wide eyes for a second and then decided to pretend not to see her for the moment. He turned his attention to Shouyou and Kageyama. 

“The first to get this place in order will get the starting serve today.” Stated Daichi, choosing a new tactic. He gently grabbed Suga by the elbow and pulled him to the side just in time to avoid being pushed around by a frantic Shouyou.

The moment the two boys registered what Daichi had said, they immediately jumped up and got in action, their ridiculous competition forgotten for the moment.

Everything happened so sudden that Mai’s concentration broke and the girl uncurled her body, now just sprawling on her mat. 

Kageyama used this opportunity to lift her up. He grunted a little when she tensed up in surprise. The boy held her like one would carry a sack of potatoes, hanging off from his arm.

“Hey!” The girl protested in confusion. She kicked her legs, but Kageyama ignored her. He strode fast towards her part of the gym. In the background Sugawara-san was about to intervene, but before he could do so properly, Kageyama had already disposed Mai on her carpet and was running back to report to Daichi. 

Meanwhile, Shouyou was folding the colourful mats and carrying them to the storage room. At almost the exact same time, Kageyama and Shouyou slid to a stop in front of Daichi and stood straight, waiting further instruction.

“Did you just… clean his sister off the floor so you could… play volleyball?” Tsukishima asked with a smirk and an unbelievable undertone. Kageyama looked at the blond but said nothing.

“Uuuh” Daichi started. He was still holding Suga by the arm. The captain felt at loss of words. Suga nudged him in the ribs and that got him going. “Hinata was faster. By a small margin. Really small.”

Hinata’s face brightened while Kageyama scowled. 

“Take that, Bakegayama!” Shouyou jumped in happiness.

“Boke! Your sister is heavier than the four mats you had to carry!” Kageyama said in annoyance.

“What!” Shouyou protested. “Then I’ll run with her, too and win again! Mai! Come here!” He yelled in the direction from where his twin was glaring at all of them. Shouyou didn’t wait for an answer, he just ran to her. Halfway there, however, he was stopped by a sparkling club in the face and the angry thud of the folding wall closing.

Tsukishima, Yamaguchi and the newly arrived Tanaka and Nishinoya exploded in laughter, while Shouyou winced and held his forehead in pain.

Daichi rubbed his face with both hands. He was going to get old prematurely. He could feel the pain in his back, knees and in his head. He was sure the one in his head was a real headache coming in.

“Falling receives! All of you!” he shouted. “Fifty.” Daichi clarified and watched in satisfaction as all of the faces in the gym went from happy to terrified.

“Us too?!” Tanaka protested. “But we haven’t done anythi-”

“Sixty!” Daichi stated and that was the clue for everyone to shut their mouths and start executing the set exercise. It was silent again, nobody was talking, or yelling, or throwing clubs, or arguing… The only sounds were the thuds of falling bodies and the grunts of teenagers awake too early on a weekday.

His headache was retreating. Maybe it was not going to be a too bad of a day.

* * *

The morning yoga session did help a little with containing Shouyou’s energy, but he was still an overly excited mess during classes. Mai snickered not so silently from her desk when a teacher suggested her brother needs the toilet. 

The truth was, she too was getting anxious. The upcoming competition was important. She pretty much had the needed points and achievements to go to the Grand Prix, however, as it was her first year as a senior, everyone’s eyes were on her. She was called a prodigy, Japan’s new grace, a golden girl and what not. She tried to forget about the titles, about the medals, but as her life was gymnastics, she couldn’t run forever. She had to face everybody and all of their high expectations. 

The qualifications were the first step before she would have to fly to Italy for the competition itself and then, hopefully not disappoint anyone. 

At lunch time, she found herself in the company of Kageyama and Shouyou, once again. The two boys were passing a volleyball in a quiet section of the school yard while she sat under the shadow of a tree. Today was the last day of school before the break. Shouyou was going to a training camp and she was going to Tokyo. 

She got so lost in thoughts that she didn’t notice her brother sitting next to her until he touched her shoulder.

She jumped a little in surprise. Looking around she saw Kageyama taking a seat opposite them. He was holding a bento box and a milk cartoon. The ball was tucked by his side. 

Shouyou got comfortable behind her and undid the ponytail she had done before classes.

“What are we doing?” Mai asked. She relaxed a little as her twin’s familiar fingers threaded her long hair. He hummed before he responded. “Resting.”

Kageyama nodded with his mouth full of rice. However, Mai sensed their lie. They never rested. They didn’t rest after practice, they didn’t rest after a game, they’ll probably not rest while sleeping if they had a choice. 

As Shouyou started the memorised movements of braiding her hair with careful and soft touches, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back so her brother had a better reach.

“Thank you.” She said in a whisper. The sunlight was dancing in small spots on them from behind the tree leaves. 

She didn’t see the boys exchanging glances, or Shouyou’s smile. But she felt all of the weight lift off her shoulders, at least for now. The golden prodigy hid somewhere in the back of her head and only Hinata Mai was left to enjoy a school lunch break with her brother and their friend. 

That morning she had done the same for Shouyou by organising a yoga session. Now he was helping her in the same way.

“Where’d you learn to do hair, boke?” Somewhere on the surface of her consciousness she registered Kageyama’s voice. His words were hard to distinguish because he was speaking with his mouth full of food.

Mai felt Shouyou shrugging his shoulders behind her. “Mom showed me once. It’s actually easy.” 

The braid was done, though Shouyou didn’t move from his spot. He leaned on the tree trunk and let his sister rest on his chest. 

Some moments passed like this, the only disturbance being Kageyama’s chewing and milk slurping. 

“What are you most excited about for this training camp?” Mai broke the silence with her question.

“Volleyball.” The two boys answered together without thinking about it.

Mai laughed and sat up properly next to Shouyou. Their shoulders and knees were touching as Mai got their lunches from her bag. 

“You play volleyball here, too! Say something else.” The girl insisted and shoved her chopsticks in the colorful salad in her bento box. 

“Hmmm” Kageyama murmured in thought. “Playing volleyball against another team.”

Shouyou agreed with a sharp nod in between shoving fish in his mouth. 

Mai laughed out loud and her laughter got carried by the summer wind. From behind a big bite, Shouyou grinned in joy and in relief. Once again he shared a glance with Kageyama and bowed his head in thanks. The taller boy mimicked the gesture and that was enough. 

“Is volleyball the only thing in your head?” Mai inquired chuckling. No one answered her but the atmosphere was lighter in many ways.

“Hey, Kageyama, do you think Shouyou will throw up again?” At Mai’s words, Shouyou choked. Kageyama stood from his spot and went to thump his teammate on the back while he pretended to be in deep thought. 

“Why are you thinking about it so long, Bakegayama!?” Shouyou demanded with a raspy voice. “And you can stop hitting me now, thank you.”

Kageyama delivered one last hard smack on the shorter boy’s back and then propped down on his other side.

The whole lunch hour went by with pointless bickering and shoving around in between the three of them. 

* * *

In the late afternoon Mai exited her practice space and ventured in the gym. She literally stopped in the midst of her ball routine. Her ball was still in her hand and she hadn’t put on her shoes, stepping out in her thin toe covers, instead.

The team was getting ready to leave for their inn, the training camp starting full force. Immediately she noticed the mutual giddy energy from all of them.

“Mai-chan, are you done with practice for the day?” Tanaka-senpai ran to her. 

“No, I’ll do one more hour, maybe. I just didn’t want to miss you guys going.” She smiled and bounced her ball to the floor two times before catching it in one hand.

“Like we’ll go without saying anything, Mai-chan!” Nishinoya-senpai joined the conversation.

The two older boys were eying the ball in her hand. “It looks very smooth and shiny!” Observed Tanaka. “Can I hold it?” 

Mai passed the ball gently and Nishinoya was the one to receive it. She left them to marvel at the soft ball and skipped over to where the other first years were drinking water.

She waited until her brother had put his bottle down in order to jump on him and hang from his neck. “Sho! Are you super excited!”

Her twin laughed. “Yeah!”

Tsukishima’s annoyed sigh broke the happy buble and Mai pouted at him. “Tsukki, watch out for any bed bugs. They bite.” The small girl emphasized her words by reaching to pinch Tsukishima on his arm. 

The tall boy glared at her while Yamaguchi giggled from beside him.

“Bed bugs?” Kageyama asked confused.

“The only bugs there would be your dear brother and the King, but don’t worry, I’ll make sure to be far away from their beds.” Retorted Tsukishima with a smirk. Rather abruptly he poked hard both twins on the forehead and his smirk grew even bigger if possible as they whined, voices merging in one.

“Stingyshima.” Shouyou and Mai mumbled together, rubbing their reddening foreheads. 

After fifteen minutes they had to say goodbye. The team was sleeping in an inn in the city, so it wasn’t like they won’t see each other pretty soon. 

* * *

The next morning, she woke up a tad bit earlier and rode her bike to the address Sho had sent her. In front of the wooden old doors, two figures were stretching in the morning air.

“Sho! Kageyama!” The girl waved in greeting and parked her bicycle. “Did you have fun last night?” 

The two of them started talking one over the other and she used the opportunity to also stretch and get ready. She put on her ankle weights, hopped in place three times and clapped her hands to cut off the messy narrative of the two boys.

“Let’s go, boys! The winner buys breakfast for all three of us!” 

Shouyou and Kageyama were gone before she could even finish. Her words never processed properly in their minds and that was fine with Mai. As she started her morning jog, she tried to decide what she wanted to eat. In the distance, fading away with the morning wind, she could hear Shouyou’s shrill voice. 

Chocolate croissant. Yeah, one of the boys, and she didn’t care who exactly, will buy a good chocolate croissant for her soul. 

Her feet were heavy with the weights, but her spirit was light. The sun warmed her path and she followed the commotion and the dust trail. She hoped for more mornings like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave your thoughts in a comment ~~ ^^
> 
> Everyday we are fluffing, ya? Daichi will get pension earlier than most people, for sure.
> 
> Btw, sorry for any language mistakes. English is not my mother tongue and sometimes I catch myself writing phrases which don't sound as natural in English as I think.
> 
> I made a slight mistake last chapter, but it won't do much damage so I decided not to edit it. Soon Nekoma will enter our stage. I just love every single character from Haikyuu. I can't even make a top three list without including at least five people. And now I love Mai, too.
> 
> NB! - I'm not an expert about rhythmic gymnastics or volleyball. I'm just an on and off fan. I did some research and if I wanted to really fit the actual real-life season of RG to a Japanese high-school year AND the events of Haikyuu... well, I couldn't really do it and make it flow easily, so I make up my own competition system, sorry to any professionals out there, I hope it's not too much of a monstrosity, but just look away, it's a fanfic, nothing much.


	7. vii

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A day late, sorry. Situation is crazy. Stay healthy and keep the people around you healthy. I'll try to have the next chapter ready for next Friday, but who knows. Work will be a bitch this week, we are under a state of emergency and we have to transfer our school online. I need to coordinate my kids. People are freaking out or not taking things seriously. Toilet paper is but a myth.
> 
> I finished this late at night, tomorrow, Sunday, I'm being called in school and it'll be an interesting work-day. I have no idea what I wrote, sorry. Any edits will happen when I have time.

Recently, Mai often found herself wondering what was Shouyou thinking about during a game? 

Was he constantly thinking about the ball in the air? Perhaps the blockers on the other side of the net? Kageyama’s toss? Were his teammate’s movements the main focus? Or Coach Ukai? Daichi as a captain? Did he know how high the ceiling of a proper gym was? Did he think at all while playing?

When she was performing in a competition her head was blank. The moment her name is announced is the last recallable memory she has before she hears the last note of her set music. Everything that happens in between is a white spot of lights and just feelings. Mai moves on instinct. The apparatus becomes an extension of her body and she just doesn’t need to think about where is the ball, because it’s just _there_. Right where it should be. 

She doesn’t ponder on why the hoop fell or why didn’t she catch the club - there was no time to delve on such things. Just because you made a mistake doesn’t mean the timer will stop counting or the judges will wait for you to make a decision. You have to move and rely on muscle memory. 

One has to be completely free of any and all worries. The moment you step on the carpet you become more than a name and a rank, you are now something to be observed and scored. You are to be effortless and elegant and always, _always_ smiling. Pain has to be only in your head and never shown. Be strong and be proud. You can be human later, when you are waiting for your points or behind the flashy curtains, but not on the carpet.

As she tried to catch her breath, clutching her clubs for dear life, Mai pondered _‘Can you be human during volleyball?’_

“You can be better.” Anya’s voice brought Mai back to the present so suddenly that her breath hitched. “You must be better in Italy.” 

Mai nodded silently. There was nothing to say back. She knew she must improve. Otherwise, the gold would stay a dream. Otherwise, she may disappoint Shouyou. Or herself.

“When you throw the club” Anya started in English with her even and loud voice. Her face was set in the usual expressionless position. Her ice-blue eyes were burning holes in Mai’s very soul. “When you throw the club use your wrist more, and fast but soft!” Instructed the coach. Her accent always got heavier when she was frustrated. “Like so.” Said Anya and demonstrated the movement she meant. 

Mai nodded again and copied the action. One of her clubs flew in the air in an effortless arch and landed securely in her palm.

“Do again!” Anya insisted in Japanese this time. The woman sat on a chair and never cut eye contact with Mai. 

Mai repeated the exercise. Anya didn’t say anything. Her posture was never changing - back straight, legs crossed delicately, hands laying on her knee in a casual manner. A few years ago, on a school trip in a history museum, Mai saw a statue of a Chinese empress with the same aura of simple magnificence. Mai admired Anya.

“Again.” the coach’s words came out in Russian, however, Mai was used to basic communication in the language so she didn’t even blink before her club was once again in the air.

“Now do with combination and behind back.” Mai didn’t even process what language she heard, she just moved as told to move. Her leotard sparkled under the hallway lights as she did a pirouette, only to turn sharply, following music which was only in her head. Her left hand found itself behind her back and a club was thrown. She did the rest of the combination and caught the club perfectly.

“Mai” This time something was different about Anya. Mai instantly noticed - her shoulders had shifted some, her face looked more relaxed. Her eyes swam with warmth instead of with ice.

“You were good today. Very good, even. I’m proud. You work hard.” 

Mai stood there, in the hallway, and soaked into the words. Anya stood up and took the small girl in her arms. “You did well. Don’t think about mistakes, you are human, mistakes happen.” 

Mai allowed herself a moment of emotional weakness and clutched at Anya’s soft coat. _‘But I want to be more than human’_ the girl said to herself. 

“Be proud of your achievements, girl. Be proud of your hard work and all the battles you fought. You know you can’t win all of them, but you must give everything you have, to the very last breath and if you don’t succeed, the fact that you were drained to the maximum would make your loss bearable. Then, you’ll just set new limits for yourself and everything will start anew. Fight, Mai. You can win.” Anya placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, and after a harder squeez of her shoulders she patted Mai on the back in comfort.

Mai smiled but hid her face against her coach’s body. She whispered her thanks and took a deep breath. The people around them paid them no mind. Competitors, organizers, staff members, coaches, a never stopping stream of people was passing by them as if they were an old painting on the white wall.

Mai felt content and happy in the short moment which felt like a mini eternity to her. Anya’s strong embrace was a barrier to time itself. Mai’s mind flashed to the medals she won today. It wasn’t all gold. Her thoughts tried to lead her back to the mistakes she managed, however Mai stopped herself. There was no need for further punishment at the moment. It was all in the past now. There was only the future to think about. The Grand Prix wasn’t a small competition. It was one of the most important ones. She’ll have World’s afterwards.

She could do it. She has to do it. She will do it. 

“I need to go and see Sho.” Mai blurted out of the blue. Anya didn’t seem surprised at all. The woman hid a smile behind a stone expression and broke the hug. “I know. I’ll drive you to the train station.”

“I can take the bus-” Mai stuttered. She didn’t want to be a bother to her coach.

Anya clicked her teeth and waved a hand. “The other girls from the team are already on the bus to go back home. I spoke to Mizuki-san, I have some work to do, anyway. Get ready and let’s go.”

Mai knew there was no use in arguing so she just bowed in gratitude and ran to get dressed. There was not much time so she just jumped in her leggings, a t-shirt and her National team jersey. After putting away her leotard carefully, she ran to Anya’s car with her face still full on make-up, her hair still in a neat bun.

The drive to the station was quiet as was the train ride. In just two hours, she was in Miyagi. She hoped to catch at least the end of the game. Her phone showed no new notifications so perhaps they were still playing. In a hurry and with the help of some people, she managed to find the school where the practice match was held. 

As she stepped in the gym, the two teams were gathered separately and she noticed the score-board from the corner of her eye. The game was over and it looked like Karasuno had lost. She was fast to scan their faces. There was no sadness or anger. Good, she thought. Only raw determination and motivation. 

Exactly thirty seconds were needed for her brother to feel her. He turned his head so sharply, it made Daichi-san and Kageyama twitch in surprise from next to him. Their eyes met and just like that her restlessness settled. He grinned and everything was fine. 

She will do it. Winning, that’s it. She was sure now. 

* * *

In the blink of an eye, her twin had materialized in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulders. She did the same with a big grin.

“We played against Nekoma-”

“I won gold for hoop and for- ” 

“It was like ‘baaaam’ and then Kenma-”

“I dropped the clubs when the turn-”

“Asahi-san was-”

“Mori-san was better at ball, because I-”

“We lost but we-”

“And then Anya told me to-”

"The quick attack-"

“I have silver for clubs-”

“Kageyama did-”

“Italy is close-”

“Kuroo-san made the-”

“OKAY! Enough, you two!” Daichi interrupted with his booming voice. His face looked all pinched-up, a forced smile gracing his clearly irritated features. He walked up to the twins and grabbed them by an elbow each, dragging them outside. The two never ceased their discussion. Sugawara-san used the time to apologize to Nekoma and their teachers.

“Another girl!” Exclaimed dramatically Yamamoto. 

“She looks like Shouyou.” Kenma commented.

“Ah, yes.” Suga smiled and looked towards the open door, where they could see the Hinata siblings and Daichi speaking animatedly. “They are twins.” 

Just then the three Karasuno students returned inside. The twins looked more placid. Shouyou skipped back to Kageyama, while Mai rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. Daichi poked her in the ribs to get her going and the girl bowed deeply. “I apologize for barging in like that.” When the four adults acknowledged her words and dismissed her formality, she cheered right up. She turned to her friends and with a wide smile and a big thumbs-up she greeted them.

“Good job today, guys! Sho and Daichi-san told me about the game! You played well against a good opponent!”

“How’d go, Mai-chan? Did you get medals?!” Tanaka-senpai inquired loudly.

Mai nodded with more confidence than she had earlier, before her talk with Anya. “I wasn’t perfect. There is room for improvement. I got two golds, though. And a silver and bronze.”

Even the other team listened with interest. Noya cheered noisily along with Tanaka.

“Where are they?” Asked the boys.

“Right here.” Mai answered, patting the bag hanging from her shoulder. “I keep them in my socks. Do you want to see them?” The grin never faltered.

A few snorts ran throughout the gym. Tsukishima looked disgusted, while Suga hurried to stop the girl from taking out items from her bag, especially her socks.

“Okay, I’ll show them to you later. They are pretty small, the competition was purely a formal step before a bigger event...” The girl trailed off. 

“It’s like watching a pretty, make-up full version of chibi-chan.” Kuroo mused out loud, sneaking close to the short girl. That was the first time someone from Nekoma addressed her and it was like Mai just now realised there were some unknown boys around. The tall black-haired smirking one looked scary. 

Then, she processed his words and slapped her cheeks, widening her eyes. “Oh, no. I didn’t have time to clean my face.” 

“Mai-chan” this time it was Takeda-sensei speaking. “Do you always compete with makeup on?” 

“Yes” The Hinata replied together, as one. Mai didn’t go wild with the makeup, she applied eyeliner, lipstick and very faint eye-shadow, however, even this little was a big contrast to her usual clear face.

“Do you always speak over each other or at the same time?” Kuroo asked. He was standing with his hands on his hips, looking between the twins with amusement.

“Yes.” Mai and Shouyou said again, this time accompanied by half the Karasuno team. Kuroo laughed loudly. 

The adults went to discuss future games and left the students to get the place in order. Shouyou introduced her to Kenma and Kuroo. Mai and Kenma nodded at each other from a distance. Kuroo choose the extrovert path. Mai wanted to hide but both Kageyama and Tsukishima were unavailable.

Shimizu saved her, the older girl offered to take Mai to a restroom so she could wash her face, if she wished to. When the two returned, the boys were already done with the cleaning and the two teams were lining up in the yard.

Mai observed from the side as her brother said his goodbyes to rivals who felt more like friends. Daichi-san and Kuroo-san were scary, but so wеre Ukai-san and the Nekoma younger coach. Mai winced and stepped next to Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.

“Why is Tanaka-senpai crying?” She asked the two boys, tilting her head to look up at them.

Yamaguchi shrugged and Tsukishima clicked his tongue but didn’t say anything. 

Mai pouted. They stayed silent for a few seconds, watching the other players interact. “Didn’t you make any new friends today, Tsukki, Yama?” 

Yamaguchi opened his mouth to answer, but Tsukishima cut him short. “How could we, with you just running in, wanting to show them your socks, probably dirty too. They were too mortified to approach us.” The tall boy spoke with even tone, sarcasm bleeding through each word.

Mai gasped and gawked at her classmate. “Y-Y-You Stingyshima! That’s not true! My socks are very clean, do you want to see, huh?! I bet they are cleaner than yours!” The girl yelled and tried to unzip her bag, but in her anger, the zipper got stuck, making Mai grow.

“Mai-chan! Calm down!” Sugawara ran from somewhere when he heard the commotion. The third-year patted Mai on the head in an attempt to cool her off. “Tsukishima, why did you make her angry? I told you not to tease her!” Suga hissed at a smirking Tsukishima.

“Tsukki was just joking, Mai-chan.” Yamaguchi joined Suga. “Right, Tsukki.”

“No.”

“I always take an extra pair.” Mai explained now talking quietly. “And it’s not weird to keep medals in there!” Justified the short girl, still struggling with the zipper.

“I want to see them.” Kageyama said. He stepped in next to Tsukishima, intensely staring at Mai. 

“What?” Sugawara, Yamaguchi and even Tsukishima looked at the younger setter as if he had grown two heads. 

“Does the king have a fetish for… socks?” Tsukishima questioned. He sounded more confused and so his inquiry was lacking the usual bite. He was truly surprised by hold bold Kageyama was being.

“Kageyama, Mai-chan is a girl and she shouldn’t be obligated to show you-” Suga lectured with a stern voice.

Meanwhile Mai, finally completely forgotten about the earlier teasing, grinned. “I’ll show you the medals on the train. Daichi-san is looking at us weirdly and it’s making me nervous.”

Tobio nodded and want to find Shouyou. Neither noticed Tsukishima’s eye roll or Suga’s and Yamaguchi’s sigh in relief. 

Shortly, the two teams separated and Karasuno started the journey to the train station.

The sun was setting and the colors of the sky varied between light blue and soft orange.

On the bullet train, Daichi made sure they were all on their best behavior. Shouyou sat between Mai and Kageyama and opposite them were Yamaguchi, Tsukishima and Ennoshita.

The twins and Kageyama spoke in loud whispers about the day they had. Ten minutes in the train-ride, the siblings were sleeping, Mai’s head resting on her brother’s shoulder, while Shouyou was leaning against Kageyama, who was also on the verge of submitting to dreamland.

“Finally” Ennoshita sighed and got comfortable in his seat. He was tasked with keeping them in check and he was now able to properly rest.

“Woah.” Yamagichi excmaimed while looking at his phone. He got shushed by Ennoshita. The risk of waking up the trio was unthinkable. Yamaguchi waited for a few seconds to be sure that they were still sleeping and then thrusted his phone in Tsukishima’s face. 

The tall blond was listening to music and just raised an eyebrow at his friend. Yamagichi said nothing, he just gestured to the phone.

There, on the screen was a picture of Mai, in the middle of a routine, her hand extended in the air, along with her left foot, a shiny ball resting on her foot. She was wearing a colorful leotard which showed how strong her legs were. She was smiling at the camera as if she knew she was being filmed. 

Underneath the picture was a bolded text “Japan’s hope. The ever graceful Hinata Mai.” 

Tsukishima read the text again. “The ever graceful...” 

He looked at the girl in question. Her neck was craned in a probably painful position. Her mouth was wide open, drool falling from the corner of her lips, right on Shouyou’s shirt. In one fist she was clutching a purple sock and in the other - her twin’s t-shirt.

Her twin was almost in identical situation, drooling on Kageyama, neck on the verge of breaking.

Tsukishima took out his phone and opened his camera app.

“Tsukki! No!” Yamagichi argued and pushed Tsukishima’s phone away. 

“But the ever graceful-”

“Leave them be, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi demanded in a rare show of objection against his best friend.

Not in the mood for silly arguments, Tsukishima put away his phone but kept Yamaguchi’s. He continued reading the article. Ennoshita leaned over his shoulder so he could read too. 

Mai twitched a little, closed her mouth and buried her face more against her twin’s warmth. 

The words underneath the flashy title and the pretty picture weren’t very nice. They talked about season scores, about Italy, about worlds, concerns about future grand failure. Her points weren’t bad, but it was more important to discuss her mistakes. The tiny girl, snuggling to her brother, was being spoken about as if she had no right to be human and to have bad days.

Yamaguchi silently took his phone when Tsukishima offered it to him. Nobody said anything. The boys looked at their sleeping teammates. 

“She looked happy.” Ennoshita said.

“She is a Hinata. They seem to survive on never giving-up and constant energy-buzzing motivation.” Tsukishima explained and turned-up the volume of his music.

As his favourite music took over his senses, the boy eyed the two siblings again. Shouyou startled himself awake when the train’s speaker announced the upcoming stop. His little flinch, made Mai jump wide awake, stumbling over her own bag, falling on the ground on her ass. 

“Grace...” Tsukishima rolled his eyes before closing them in order to distance himself from the ridiculous people he was forced to socialise with. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please, leave a comment.
> 
> As always, I'm completely messing up any real RG competition calendar. Sorry.  
> Anya is Russian, married to a Japanese. She speaks in English, Japanese and sometimes Russian with her girls. Her Japanese and English are not perfect, that's why her sentences look like this.
> 
> Suga and Daichi are the ultimate parents. I got the medals in a sock idea from Yuzuru Hanyu. Last Olympic games he shared he kept his medal in a sock and actually showed it to the camera. 
> 
> Stay safe and be positive!


	8. viii

Somehow it had become a routine for Shouyou, Mai and Kageyama to have lunch together. If the weather was nice they would go outside and if not - they would push together their desks. 

The days became warmer and warmer, making that one hour a pleasant one. The sounds of spring were slowly making way to summer hums and the green around them was becoming more prominent. Each morning Mai observed the mountain forests and their luscious green leaves. 

More often than not, the boys would spend a significant time competing in some weird made-up game or simply practicing volleyball. Kageyama always made sure to have some, as Mai called it, milk time. 

Mai, on the other hand, used the time for stretches or to watch routines. Sometimes she just listens to music and spaces out.

But there were times, like now, when all three of them would simply enjoy the breeze, the warmth of the still bearable sun and each other’s company, though the boys would never admit to that last one. 

Kageyama was leaning against the tree, legs stretched out in front of him in a relaxed manner. He was slurping from his milk box with extremely concentrated look. His eyes were locked on the volleyball laying next to Mai’s training bag, but his mind was far away. It was unusually quiet, especially for having both Hinatas in one place.

The reason for this was that the twins were taking a nap. Mai had the ability to sleep anywhere and at all time, however rarely did Shouyou let his energy level drop enough to actually sleep in the middle of the day for no reason, but the early training calls and the calming warmth were taking its toll, it seemed.

Really, Kageyama had no idea how it turned out that he became their personal pillow and, obviously, the boke deserved to be kicked awake for thinking he had the right to use his lap as a resting place. But Kageyama didn’t move. The two heads in his lap, only millimeters from each other, stayed unmoving, too. Each slight call of the spring wind was ruffling the branches of the trees and Shouyou’s hair.

Mai always kept her hair in a braid or a bun, a ponytail, put back with a ribbon, she never just left it to be. Her brother, though, was a different story. Shouyou’s hair was like a wildfire, orange and wild. It looked soft and now, with it just being  _ there _ , so  _ close _ , Kageyama felt the desire to touch it and check if it really was as soft as it appeared. 

Briefly, he moved his gaze to Mai’s head. But he didn’t feel the same need. Her hairdo today was a small ponytail with only half of her straight locks. A few strands were framing her face and the breeze played with them. But Kageyama had no wish to run his fingers through the long orange hair as he did with her twin’s mane.

His attention returned to Shouyou. The shorter boy was completely relaxed in a way Kageyama hasn’t really seen him. Of course, he has seen the other boy, and perhaps every member of their team sleep at some point, but at the time he was also exhausted and never noticed the details he was seeing now. 

Shouyou wasa usually always buzzing, burning with vigour. Now his body was slack. His right hand was laying limp at his side, while the left one was was spread across Kageyama’s knees and was holding a strand of his sister’s hair. 

His lips twitched a little every now and then, but otherwise he had a gentle smile across his face. His black cardigan was tossed away carelessly and Shouyou was left in only his white shirt.

The whole scene made his chest feel strange and in order not to do anything weird, Kageyama chose to drink his milk in silence. Unconsciously, the volleyball became his target. That’s right, Kageyama, thought, it was the same feeling as when he played volleyball. Shouyou was the embodiment of volleyball passion, so that’s why he felt like this. He shouldn’t delve on it.

The setter’s thoughts lead him from the annoying orange-head to their last game with Nekoma and what can the team do to become better. He didn’t even feel when his beverage was finished and the cartoon wrinkled in his hold. 

“So the King and his court are enjoying the good weather while us common people rot inside?”

Tsukishima’s jab brought Kageyama back to the present. The tall blond was donning his trademark smirk. Yamaguchi waved sheepishly and Kageyama rolled his eyes. Recently, Tsukishima’s remarks didn’t bother him at all. 

If it was Oikawa spilling the king bullshit, he would be igniting a fire, however, with Tsukishima it was just their daily word exchange. 

“We decided to get some fresh air. Do you mind?” Yamaguchi asked gently. His tall friend sat down, not waiting for Kageyama’s response.

The setter sighed and wordlessly shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t mind Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima was already putting on his headphones, clearly not in the mood for chitter-chat.

Once again silence was restored. The wight in his lap was ever present. Kageyama looked down and his vision was filled with two identically coloured heads. 

“It’s weird to see them, him especially, so… tranquil, right?” Yamaguchi mused out loud. The boy sat down next to Tsukishima and opened the book he was carrying. 

Kageyama noticed how Tsukishima’s eyes moved from behind his glasses and the blond boy was observing his freckled friend until he got comfortable. Then, his gaze locked with Kageyama’s and the two stared at each other for a few seconds.

“Yeah...” Kageyama said finally, agreeing with Yamaguchi. Some students passed by nearby with joyful steps and giggles in their wake. Then it was only the wind and the leaves making noise.

For the next twenty minutes, nothing happened. The twins continued their peaceful sleep and Kageyama didn’t dare to move even one bit. Once his milk was over with, he leaned his head back in the tree trunk and tried to think about everything but Shouyou’s warm weight in his lap. 

Tsukishima listened to his music and Yamaguchi read his book. The shrill sound of the first school bell cut through the air. This was the ten-minutes-to-class sign for the students. The piercing rings startled the twins. Their eyes snapped open and Kageyama felt their bodies tensing up. On instinct, the setter placed his hands on a shoulder each, unconsciously trying to calm them. 

Shouyou’s hand, which was tangled in his sister’s hair, closed in a fist and in an involuntarily move the boy pulled at the orange locks. 

Mai yelped in pain and the moment her brother managed to get his hand free, she jumped up and glared at him while rubbing her head.

“You are so stupid! Why did you do that!” The girl hissed. Her voice sounded heavy with sleep.

Kageyama groaned as he also got up and shook out his legs a little. His body was stiff from staying in the same position for a long time.

“Ah, Mai-chan, Souyou, the bell just-” Yamaguchi stepped next to the angry girl. From behind him Tsukishima was observing with interest.

The twins either didn’t hear him or chose to ignore him. Instead, Shouyou huffed at his sister with zero apologetic intent.

“It wasn’t my fault.”

The girl gasped and pointed accusingly at him. “You know it hurts when you do this, stupid! You know it and you always do it!”

Shouyou sighed and mirrored his sister’s glare. “Don’t call me stupid! And stop waving your finger at me, already!”

The three witnesses were stunned. They haven’t seen the Hinatas in such hostile light. Yeah, they have had their fair share of bickering and shoving around, teasing and poking, but it was always easy to defuse and never serious. 

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Mai gritted her teeth.

Tsukishima pulled Yamaguchi back just as Shouyou walked up to Mai and their voices got louder.

“Now you are telling me what to do!” Argued the boy with an angry expression which looked foreign on his usually sunny face. 

“Apologize!” the two shouted at each other at the same time. The annoyed eyebrow twitch was identical on both sides. 

Kageyama felt lost, he moved his head from one twin to the other, completely clueless as to why they were so confrontational all of a sudden. The two peaceful figures from moments before were long gone and he wondered if he was dreaming. Maybe he fell asleep, too.

“I hate you!” Shouyou and Mai roared before they jumped at each other. Yamaguchi shrieked in surprise and Tsukishima stared wide-eyed as the twins rolled around, pinching, hitting and cussing at each other. 

“Your bony elbows should be illegal! ”

“Don’t kick me you stupid-stupid!”

“Your insult suck-OW!”

“OW-OW don’t pull my hair!”

“O-O-Oi! Your hair is so ugly! Ouch! Watch your knee, bakaaaa!”

“Apologize!!”

“You apologize first!”

“You first! Ow-ow-ow!”

“Tsukki! Kageyama! We should stop them! Call a teacher!” Yamaguchi panicked. The two taller boys stood frozen as the figures on the ground continued.

“Move your heavy ass off me!” Mai called out from underneath her brother. He had one of her hands in his grip and was pulling at her hair. The girl yelped and extended her free hand, digging her nails in her twin’s forearm.

The boy shouted in pain and Mai used the moment to roll over, landing on Shouyou, both of them grunting.

“You little-” Shouyou hissed with a glare. 

Mai’s triumphant smirk was removed when she felt a strong pinch on her tight. The pain was bad and she was sure there was blood.

“A-Ah why you dumbass fucke-” She wanted to punch him, she was going to punch him right in his stupid face but she was lifted off his squirming body, seconds before his own fist collided with her. Kageyama kept a strong hold around her middle, her legs waving off the grass.

Her brother was also pulled off the ground by Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.

“HINATA!” 

“Oh my god! Mai-chan! Shouyou! Daichi, don’t yell so loudly!”

Sugawara-san and Daichi-san came running from the side. Suga’s face was horrified while Daichi looked mad. In the distance, Asahi-san worriedly approached in a slower pace.

“What the hell do you think you are doing, huh?” Daichi demanded and looked at the siblings. They were a mess, clothes - disheveled and dirty, hair sticking out everywhere, skin full of scratches and pinches, some of them red with blood. Somehow, they had managed to avoid any damage to their faces. The two were panting heavily, completely limp, not saying anything.

“The nurse-” Yamaguchi started, but was cut off by Daichi.

“No.”

Suga frowned. He motioned to Kageyama to lower Mai until she was steady on her feet. “Daichi, they need to-”

“No.” Daichi said again. On his nod, Tsukishima let Shouyou go and the boy stumbled before he gathered his bearings. 

“If they can’t stand each other that much” the captain started and grabbed Shouyou firmly by his white shirt. “they’re going separate ways. Mai can go to her training, while this one is going back to class. Today, I’ll talk with the girls and see if we can use their gym. You won’t be seeing each other soon.” Daichi explained and pulled an agape Shouyou with him, towards the school. 

“Don’t worry Mai,” Daichi continued with a fake smile. “I’ll make sure you don’t have to ever see him.”

Mai’s breath hitched and she freed herself from Suga’s hold. Suga was still frowning at his friend while the first years looked confused.

“Shouyou, you’ll only have to bear with your sister at home, I can’t help there. Now everyone get going, Mai, off to the gym you go.” Ordered Daichi in stern words. Shouyou went rigid in his grip. Mai was gaping with teary eyes as her brother was taken away. 

“No!” Mai yelled desperately. Shouyou mirrored her expression and struggled against the strong grasp he was in. 

“Clearly you can’t tolerate to be near one another. Then you won’t be. From today you are going home by yourselves.” Daichi was now almost at the door. The flow of students observed the whole thing but with a whisper or two, they eventually disappeared inside the building.

“N-No!” Shouyou murmured. His eyes were on his twin’s. “No!” The two repeated together. 

Mai ran at full force at her brother and she locked her hands around him, burying her head against his shoulder. Daichi steaded them so they don’t fall down. 

“Don’t take him!”

“Don’t take her!”

“I’m sorry, Sho!”

“No, I’m sorry, Mai! I’m sorry!”

“I’m sorry too!”

“Don’t take her, don’t touch my sister!”

“Please, Daichi-san, we’ll be good, please!”

Most of the words coming out of their mouths were hard to understand. Mai was crying while Shouyou breathed deeply, panic high in his voice. The twins clutched at each other, their wounds from earlier a dull ache.

Tsukishima flicked them both on the heads as he and Yamaguchi went by them to enter the school and head to class. “Baka-shrimps.” The tall middle-blocker said offhandedly.

“S-S-Stingishima!” The twins choired, but with Mai’s tears and Shouyou’s desperation, it sounded nothing like the usual prod.

“Honestly, you two! I don’t know what to say...” Suga-san sighed with his hands on his hips and an exasperated expression. 

“Boke.” Kageyama cut in. He was carrying his bags along with the twins’ belongings. Mai’s training bag was on his shoulder, her blazer, along with her brother’s were casually hanging off Kageyama’s forearm, the volleyball was resting on his hip in a slack grip.

“Boke.” Glared Kageyama again. 

“Bakegayama” Pouted Mai and Shouyou. 

“Let’s go. We’ll be late.” Daichi prompted with a hand wave.

The siblings tensed and held on even tighter “Daichi-san, please don’t take us! We’re sorry!” They chirped and looked up at Daichi with their puppy-like eyes.

Daichi’s brow twitched and the boy rubbed his face.

“Just go inside and hope no teacher asks why you look like you were in a fight.”

“They were in a fight.” Asahi said, finally daring to come to the scene.

“Mai, you have training now, you’ll see Shouyou again in two hours at most.”

Mai wanted to shake her head and protest, but she knew Suga-san was right. Still pouting, she sniffled, cleaned her eyes with her sleeve and nodded in agreement.

“I’m sorry Mai/Sho.” Mai and Shouyou whispered only for their own ears to hear. 

“Hurry up!” Daichi demanded impatiently.

Mai gazed up at him. “Pinky promise you won’t take Sho!” The small girl held out her pinky to the third-year. 

“What?” Daichi spoke confused.

“Pinky promise!” Mai repeated and pushed her pinky in his face. Next to her Shouyou grinned.

“Pinky promises are forever.” The short boy explained. 

“Are you serious?” Daichi questioned suspiciously squinting at the twins.

“Yup.” They confirmed with big smiles. They still had bloody scratches and messy hairs.

“Just make the promise and let’s go! All of us will get in trouble!” Suga-san ushered. 

Daichi bit his lip and copied Mai’s movements, unfolding his pinky and intertwining it with her tiny one. He left his arm slack so she could shake their connected hands. In seconds the whole thing was over.

Mai grabbed her stuff from Kageyama and bowed in both gratitude and apology, then, with a last look at Shouyou, she was off to the gym.

“You were going to punch her.” Kageyama stated as the two first years walked back to their classroom. The hallways were empty and the boys were sure they were late for class.

“Well… yeah.” Shouyou admitted.

“She is a girl.” Kageyama said.

“No, she is my sister.” Shrugged Shouyou. “Besides, she was going to do the same to me.” 

Kageyama said nothing. He decided to fill his mind with images of a calm sleeping face resting on his lap, soft orange locks lulled by the breeze. His chest felt the same warmth as earlier at lunch. It was all because of volleyball, yeah. 

* * *

Two days later, Shouyou and Kageyama were eating their lunch in the classroom. Mai wasn’t at school because she had to go to the training center. The Grand Prix was getting closer and her trips to the center were becoming more and more.

“Ah, Hinata-san?” 

Both Kageyama and Shouyou turned to look at the nervous boy standing next to their desks.

Shouyou left his chopsticks on his bento box and answered “Yes?” He tried to remember who this boy was. He had seen him somewhere. 

“I was wondering… Uh, your sister, she… well...” Ah, yes, Shouyou thought, this was Toshiro from another class. He was in the baseball club.

“Is she free?” Toshiro asked, blushing and staring at the bento boxes on the desks instead of at the two boys sitting there.

“No, she is busy.” Shouyou responded honestly. “She has a big competition coming up and she’s busier than usual.”

At first Toshiro had a dejected expression, but as Shouyou’s explanation went on, he relaxed. “No, I mean… is she dating someone?”

Shouyou scrunched up his nose, even Kageyama seemed confused. 

“No.” Said the boy shortly, not sure what Toshiro wanted.

“Uuuh, well, uh, do you know who she likes?” Toshiro inquired more confidently.

“Me.” Shouyou responded simply without a second thought.

“What?!” Toshiro exclaimed.

“I’m her brother. She likes me.”

Kageyama nodded in agreement.

Toshiro frowned. “No, no. Like, as a boyfriend. I see her often with the volleyball club….” at that, the baseball player glared at Kageyama.

“A boyfrined?” Shouyou mused out loud. 

“Yes, I want to- uhm, well, she is very beautiful and she-, so, yeah.” Toshiro stuttered through a half-assed explanation. His cheeks were burning.

Shouyou scowled at his lunch box. Kageyama noticed how Shouyou got all silent and the tall boy glared at Toshiro.

“She is too busy now.” Kageyama said darkly. Toshiro flinched and stepped back.

“Ah, yes, the competition. I understand. Then I’ll come back after that’s over for her. Thanks and bye.” With a wave the boy went to exit the classroom.

“Wait!” Shouyou called after him. Toshiro stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around. 

“If you want an autograph, I’ll speak to her tonight.” The short orange-head offered. He was content when his sister was recognised for her hard work. Now that he thought of it… he could sell her autographs and make money. Even though this was the first time someone asked for one….

“Huh?” Toshiro scratched his chin.

“It’s fine, don’t be embarrassed. She’ll give you one. She’ll be all shy and blushy, but don’t worry!”

Toshiro’s face got even redder at the mental image of blushing Mai. He was actually relieved that her brother didn’t comprehend what he actually wanted… Now he had time to gather courage. Mai was always around the boys from the volleyball team and that was a serious competition.

“Uhm, thanks. It’s fine, don’t be bothered. I have to go now, bye.” Toshiro hurried out before he could be stopped again.

Shouyou stared in puzzlement at the retreating boy. He looked at Kageyama, who shrugged.

A few desks over Tsukishima facepalmed himself. “How can you be so dense?” He wondered out loud, addressing the duo. Yamaguchi snickered but didn’t say anything.

Kageyama and Shouyou shared a perplexed expression. “What?”

“Oh, hey, Kageyama, I bet I can eat faster than you!” Shouyou challenged all of a sudden, Toshiro moved to the back of his mind. 

“As if, boke. One, two, three!” 

Not even thirty seconds later, choking sounds filled the mostly empty classroom. 

“Kageyama!” Yamaguchi exclaimed in worry and rushed to said boy on the back. 

“Ha-ha-ha-ha! I’m fashtah!” Shouyou guffawed around a mouthful, words getting lost as some food flew out of his open mouth. 

“Unbelievable.” Tsukishima voiced and loudly let his head fall on his desk. He pondered how can he survive three years with these idiots. High school was truly bothersome. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please, leave a comment :) !
> 
> I wanted to show another side of siblings - the fights. I have seen my fair amount of fights between sibling (twins and not only). Some of them ended with blood spilled :D Only to have them hugging and needing each other minutes later. Help Daichi for he is struggling. Tsukki is always my fave. Toshiro is a made-up character, my intentions with him are not serious at the moment, especially not for Mai. Kageyama si c o n f u s e d and he has f e e l s. 
> 
> PS: Stay healthy and protect yourself and the people around you!  
> PS2: I always end up writing Yamagushi instead of Yamaguchi. Very important info.


	9. ix

It was warm, and sunny and the third years pushed three desks together so they could have their lunch in peace. The classroom was mostly empty, the bigger part if the students having chosen the yard as a place to relax.

Usually, Daichi, Suga and Asahi would use the one hour lunch break for volleyball, sometimes going as far as finding Shouyou and helping him with receiving, but this time, they resolved to simply eating and enjoying each other’s company.

Leaning back in his chair, Suga stretched his arms and squinted at Asahi. The tall boy was shoving food in his mouth with the speed of a sloth, his expression stuck between worry and anxiety.

“Asahi! Go and leave your negativity outside of this room! You are making my food taste bitter...” Suga joked in a serious tone. Asahi tensed with a small “Huh?” almost falling off his seat in surprise.

Daichi sighed at his friends’ antics, taking a sip from his cold drink. The liquid was refreshing, but the bottle had condense, which made his hand wet. He dried it out on his pants and looked at Asahi, who was rubbing his neck in embarrassment.

“What are you even overthinking about this time? Volleyball or the math test?” 

Asahi opened his mouth to answer but was cut short by Nishinoya, who ran in as a brown-yellowish blur.

“Suga, I lost my jacket!” Noya cried out. He waved his arms around in desperation.

“You left it in the club room this morning.” Suga assured him. With a louder than necessary yell of “Thanks, Suga!” Noya was gone as fast as he appeared.

Asahi blinked in confusion, while Daichi’s brow twitched. A bite of his lunch and he distracted his mind. It was his time to relax, not get angry at his teammates.

Just when Daichi had found his inner peace anew, Tanaka flew in a symphony of noisy footsteps and booming voice.

“Suga-san! I can’t find my notebook!”

Suga left his chopsticks on his napkin and dutifully faced the frantic teen.

“Which notebook?” Questioned Suga gently.

“Suga-san, I have only one notebook….”

Silence followed Tanaka’s statement and Daichi felt a glare trying to set in. _‘No, don’t, Daichi. Just leave Suga to deal with this_ ’

And Suga was indeed dealing with it. 

“Look at the bottom of your sport bag, you probably shoved it there by mistake, again.”

Tanaka’s face shone with relief and he ran out. Daichi kicked Suga’s chair, grinning at his friend’s cute shriek.

“Why does it feel like you are their parent, Suga?” Teased Daichi. This made Asahi laugh, but after a sharp look from Suga, the boy shrank back and masked his chuckles as a cough.

Suga shrugged his shoulders and retook his chopsticks.

“I’m just reliable.”

This made Daichi snort. 

“You are a little shit like all of them, they just see you as superior little shit, because you are older and collected.” To hear Daichi curse was a rare treat. Suga gasped dramatically and his eyes got wide. 

With mocked offense the silver-haired setter sharply averted his head to the side. “How could you say that!” Suga cried out. He was about to continue his play, however, his eye caught familiar figures. He rose a little so he could get a better view. 

“Hey, look, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are having lunch outside.” When his two friends also noticed the first-year pair, Suga strode to the window and leaned over, shouting out with obnoxious waving in the air. 

“Tsukishima, Yamaguchi! Stay in the shadows, the sun is strong!” Instantly he saw how Tsukishima tensed at glared in annoyance. However, he didn’t protest when Yamaguchi pushed him urgently underneath the nearest three. With a satisfied smirk, Suga turned towards a speechless Asahi and an amused Daichi. 

“See, I get to bother Tsukki.” His content tone kept the mood light. “And don’t pretend like you are not the dad-friend, Captain.”

There, the light mood evaporated for Daichi as the boy gave Suga a dark look.

“That’s not true. I’m just a good captain of the team.” Daichi denied with crossed arms.

Asahi decided to take Sugawara’s side and with a thoughtful face he spoke out. “Actually I think Noya and Tanaka have this bet going around on you-” The ace was interrupted by the next guest, basically sliding in, tripping over the first row of desks and almost falling flat on her face. Somehow, Mai managed to make that look refined. When she caught herself, she ran to Suga.

“I can’t find my brother!” The small girl confessed with distress. Suga put a comforting hand on her arm and calmly grounded her, making her think clearly.

“Where did you put him last? ” Suga inquired. 

Mai stood silent for a second before she slowly answered.

“With Kageyama?” She was clearly unsure. Suddenly Suga got a nervous edge. 

“So he is missing, too?” The setter asked, his voice starting to sound shrill. Mai gave him a weird look.

“I don’t know, I’m looking for Shouyou, not for Kageyama.” With that, the girl was gone, probably to continue the search for her twin.

Registering how actually concerned Suga looked, Daichi used his leader-voice, as Noya called it, and did his best to sooth his setter.

“Suga, you aren’t their babysitter or mom. Enjoy the break. Let’s finish lunch.”

Suga sat back down, not saying a thing. With a nod he started eating. Minutes of quietness passed.

The stillness was broken by Suga. 

“You are worried they’ll get in trouble again, right?” He didn’t even look up from his food. Daichi threw his chopsticks in the relative direction of his lunch box and stood so fast, the whole desk rattled.

“Dammit, these kids!” Daichi shouted, making the few students in the room jump in surprise. In the blink of an eye, the furious captain had left to find his children.

“I love it when he swears.” Suga said sweetly to a dumbstruck Asahi. 

* * *

“Are you scared, Mai-chan?”

Mai hummed and shook her head.

“I’m not scared of competing. But I’m filled with worry.” The girl confessed. Then she took a bite of the warm pork bun in her grip and savoured the good taste.

The whole team was munching on the soft buns, a treat from their captain. They were occupying the street in front of Ukai-san’s shop. 

“Aren’t you excited about going to Italy? I have never been outside of Japan.” Noya confessed.

Mai’s eyes sparkled. “You bet! I’ll bring something for you guys...”

Daichi shook his head and patted her on the head. “Don’t think about us. Focus on the important stuff.”

“I want the biggest chocolate bar” Shouyou stressed the word ‘biggest’ with hand gesture. He was speaking with his mouth full and Tsukishima hit him over the head in disgust. 

The atmosphere was a complete contrast of the dark chilly evening. All the boys were relaxed, muscles slack, faces joyful, teasingly bickering and shoving themselves around under Daichi’s strict and watchful gaze.

With a giggle Mai hugged Shouyou’s arm and stole a bite out of his bun, as hers was done with already.

Her twin weakly protested but let her have her way. Kageyama huffed at them and distanced himself. The twins pouted at him which earned them a glare.

“When do you leave?” Suga inquired from next to Daichi. The boy had a mellow smile.

“Tonight at two in the morning.” Shouyou and Mai answered in synch. 

“Imagine we are there with you, in the stands.” 

Mai couldn’t hide her smile even if she wanted to. The weight in her stomach lessened and she beamed, brighter than the full moon in the sky.

“Of course! The same way I’ll be cheering on you during your game!”

All of them were heading into battles, ready to win.

* * *

She was breathing deeply, almost spasming in her desperate attempt to take in enough oxygen up her lungs. Her forehead was spotted with little droplets of sweat, delicate, like the sparkles usually donning her leotards. She was leaning heavily against the doorway. Her jersey, the Japan one, was unzipped and underneath was a simple t-shirt that looked like it belonged to Shouyou. Her black leggings, tight against her flesh, obscured the trembling of her leg muscles. Her ginger hair falling off from a messy pony tail.

One look at her was enough for her brother to know the exact thoughts and emotions running inside her mind. The self-disappointment, the self-doubt, the sense of failing not only yourself, but also the people who put effort in helping you grow in this sport. In any sport. After all, they were the same notions he had to live through and was still battling with. 

And even though he could read her better than a book, he still gasped, still worriedly asked:

“Mai! What happened?!” Kageyama was standing silent, a ball clutched in his hands, his brow furrowed. 

“I ran.”

“The bike-” Shouyou made a few snail steps in her direction. 

“I ran.”

“The mountain-” His voice was becoming quieter, turning into a whisper. She cut him off again, blank stare baring in his soul, the same eyes that looked at him from the mirror after their loss yesterday. 

“I ran.”

“Okay.” He finally responded. His tone sounded more confident and strong. He understood her. If he didn’t, nobody will. With a sharp nod he stopped in place and let her take a few last heavy exhales and gather her bearings. The rage which had been boiling in his blood earlier was now like ice rivers under his skin. 

“Okay.” Mai repeated and as if in a trance entered the gym. Her lungs weren’t screaming anymore, but she was still panting. Her legs felt like jelly. She dragged herself next to her brother. The closeness itself was enough to calm her. 

“Teach me how to serve.” Mai demanded breathlessly. She wasn’t looking at Shouyou or Kageyama, she was staring at the folding wall, which was partially open, showing a peek of her training space.

That surprised Shouyou. “What?” 

Kageyama shared a look with his teammate as if telling him to explain what is wrong with his sister. The setter let the ball fall to the ground and went to their bags. As opposed to reaching in his own, he opened Shouyou’s and fished out a yellow water bottle. 

Meanwhile the gym was silent. Mai was still gazing into the nothingness over her practice carpet, while Shouyou observed her with a careful eye. With fast strides, Kageyama bent under the net and shoved the water in Mai’s face. That broke her out of her trance and she blinked at him.

“I want to serve a ball. Please.” Mai said again and with a grateful smile at Tobio, she drank the cold water that felt like a life-elecsire to her dry mouth. 

The two boys shared a glance, again, and after Shouyou’s reassuring nod, they agreed to fulfill her request. Together. 

“Okay.”

The words echoed in the empty gym. For a minute no one moved. Once her harsh breathing subdued, Mai grinned, an actual, honest face-splitting smile. “Okay.” 

* * *

When the rest of the team arrived they found the three first-years taking turns slamming a ball from one side of the court to the other. Gone were the tense muscles and sorrowful looks born after their loss. 

Mai had a boy on each side. Kageyama mimicked a hit and Shouyou demonstrated his own serve.

With a node of certainty and complete concentration, Mai took a ball from Kageyama. Taking a steading breath, the girl exhaled and made a few running steps, at the last moment raising on her toes and throwing the ball in the air. The moment her palm made contact with the volleyball, the gym echoed with a loud smack.

The ball barely made it over the net, however Kageyama praised her stance while her brother complimented her on the good hit.

“Less fingers, hit more towards your wrist, but not fully.” instructed Kageyama calmly. It was a clear contrast from his usual pent-up frustration when someone did something wrong.

The girl listened carefully and after a sharp incline of her head, she repeated the hit. This time, she slammed the ball correctly, gracefully elevating her body on toes, however it never made it over the net.

“Nice one, Mai-chan!” Tanaka greeted. At his voice, the girl tensed for a second, then relaxed. She turned around and waved, then bowed in thanks.

Noya-senpai jumped in the gym and grinned. He pointed at the orange-haired girl. “When did you come back, Mai-chan?!” 

Mai rubbed the back of her head, pulling on her ponytail and after smiling gently she answered. “Some hours ago.”

“And?! How’d it go?!” 

She didn’t say anything. Biting her lip, Mai averted her gaze for a second. She was unconsciously fiddling with the hem of her shirt. “It went fine, I guess. I got good scores. Not perfect, but good. A silver and two bronzes.” By the end she finally smiled, lighting up her face with pride. 

The boys cheered happily and Tanaka-senpai hugged her, only to quickly let her go, apologize and engulf her in a hug a second later.

“Congratulations, Mai-chan.” 

Kiyoko-san’s gentle tone broke the cacophony and Mai blushed under her sincere praise. The small girl even got a soft pat on the head from her upperclassman, which elicited an overly emotional exclamation from both Tanaka and Nishinoya.

Second later Daichi, Sugawara and Asahi also joined the team. With big grins and a load off their shoulders, they announced that the third years will be staying with the team until the last moment possible.

Mai found herself gasping alongside the boys. For the time her brother has been a part of this small family, she has become attached to them. They were hers, too. They gave her more strength that they knew.

* * *

Sitting on the wooden floor, hidden behind Shouyou and Yamaguchi, Mai stayed while Ukai-san talked to everyone. It was once again dark outside. 

She was silently going through notifications on her phone. Girls on her team sharing needed words of praise, some even giving tips or simply telling her to keep going in the same strong spirit.

She on principle strayed away from social media. Her mother and Anya had spoken with her about the toxicity of the stuff she could find there. It was impossible to completely avoid it, but she tried to see as less as possible. Her own head was enough of a judging spectrum, she didn’t need stranger’s opinions.

She skimmed through article titles - some good, some neutral, and of course, some negative. Nothing out of the usual. She marveled at some of the pictures from the competition. She loved her leotards. Then some pictures of Torino, the city, came up and she smiled at the memory of the tasty food and the great time she had along with the other girls.

“Hinata-san, would you like to add some encouragement to this team, heading towards their next big goal? You have experience with competing in a grand scale.” 

Mai startled because she hadn’t even heard Takeda-sensei coming in. As she stood stiffly, she wondered what else did she miss? The date of the next match? A training camp? Something?

The teacher urged her lightly, her brother also giving her a push. She stood up in the middle of their improvised circle. All eyes were on her and she stepped back a few centimeters, almost colliding with Ukai-san.

Suga-san had to elbow Tanaka-san and Tsukishima to keep them from snickering. Mai bolted her eyes to her twin and seeing his more than familiar face made her realise she didn’t have to be worried. These people were her friends. 

All of a sudden she stopped fretting and with a steady voice she begun speaking.

“As Takeda-sensei said, I’m, you could say, a veteran competitor.” She giggled softly before continuing. “This was one of my first senior competitions. In gymnastics, we have this opportunity - saying senior when some of us are just kids. It’s gruelling. Physically and mentally. But you know this from personal experience.”

The boys didn’t say anything. Some of their expressions became serious and she knew she hit home. 

Takeda-sensei put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she went on. “When I had to watch the other girls go to podium Anya pulled me aside and told me something - A loss today could be a win tomorrow. Winning is a combination of circumstances just as much as it is hard work and while you can’t control certain aspects of life, what you can do is give it your all in training and hard work.” 

This was probably the longest she has spoken in one sitting in front of most of these people.

“That way, if you win you know you deserve it to the last drop of blood, if you lose - you know you fought until the last second, with teeth and claws, you fought and you fell victorious.” Mai raised her head with pride, the way she did when stepping on the carpet. 

“I was all the way in Italy, with a stomach full of nerves and mind swimming in anxiety. I competed against the best in my sport! I shared podium with some of them. I breathed their air and that got me hungry for more. ”

The determination leaking off her was captivating. Kageyama hung on every single word. Shouyou blinked breathlessly from his side. 

Mai made a big pause, tilting her head to the side in thought. With a face-splitting smile the girl clapped her hands.

“I put my makeup on, did my hair, did what I could, but lost some of the battles - just like you, actually. I have more coming up, and so do you. This time let’s win! ” 

She did a thumbs-up pose. Seconds afterwards the whole gym was filled with deafening roars and the stomping of overjoyed feet.

Ukai-san pursed his lips and addressed Takeda-sensei. “Next time I won’t even bother with a speech.” Takeda laughed sheepishly, watching the happy teenagers jumping around.

* * *

Shouyou’s room has always been the more cluttered one. Some of the stuff wer her own, but her brother never complained about it. 

Mai was squished between the wall and Shouyou’s body. When she tiptoed in his bedroom, Shouyou was already waiting for her. She slid under the covers swiftly and settled against his warmth.

No words were needed. No explanation, no excuse or recognition. People often joked that the two of them could read each other’s minds. They couldn’t, they could only guess, but the thing was, when you know someone so well, when you have divided your whole world for somebody, there was _no_ way you could guess wrong. 

So, Sho didn’t need to read his sister’s mind to know what she was thinking, he simply _knew._

When they were babies, the used to sleep facing one another, with their hands intertwined and resting in between their faces. Many years later, they still stuck to this habit. 

“You are amazing, Sho. You know that, right?” Mai whispered. She squeezed his palm. “Never give up your spirit. As long as you are yourself, you’ll win.” Her words were breathed out as a prayer and he could see her smile even in the darkness.

They stayed like this for a while. The walls around them carried the sounds of long-passed memories - of childish games, laughter, tears and love. Shouyou reached with his free hand to lightly pull on a strand of her hair. 

“You went against world champions and you made them worry for their medals! You stood up and showed everyone that you _can._ Believe in yourself at least half the amount you believe in me, Mai.”

His own whispers wrapped around her soul and joined the echo of the house. Right before she let the exhaustion lull her to sleep, she strongly clutched Sho’s hand. 

Shouyou didn’t need to be a mindreader. 

“Love ya, too.” The boy murmured, burying his face in his pillow and joining his sister in dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please, leave a comment :) !
> 
> I'm not happy AT ALL with how this chapter turned out overall, but I didn't want to frown upon it for the next few days only to post it anyway, so here it is. I'm sorry, hopefully next one will be better, please bear with me.  
> This is the end of season 1, next time we start season two, wohooo.
> 
> Mai's competition didn't went too terrible at all, she is just way too hard on herself. She is kind of a perfectionist when it comes to her own self. However, she has a strong support group :)
> 
> Daichi and Suga officially parents, fight me. Idk.


	10. x

Volleyballs had a distinctive smell. The material itself, ot perhaps the storage unit, maybe the gym as a whole, but they emitted a specific aroma which couldn’t be mistaken for anything but a volleyball. 

With a big sniff at nothing in particular, Mai looked at Kageyama and grabbed his attention by pulling on his shirt.

“Do I smell like volleyball?” 

Kageyama’s face scrunched up in confusion. He looked down at the short girl and then averted his eyes to the floor for a second.

The wooden floor, polished and squeaky has become an integral part of Mai’s everyday life, almost to the level of her own training floor. 

With a slight shift in his shoulders, Kageyama raised one arm and inhaled deeply, as if trying to smell himself. A few seconds later he bent to sniff at Mai’s head, only to repeat the process with Shouyou, who had just entered the gym with a big hop from the doorstep.

“Yes.” Kageyama replied curtly and left the twins, going to stretch on the ground.

Shouyou poked his sister in the ribs, ignoring her cry of protest. 

“What was that?”

Mai huffed and poked Shouyou back. “I asked him if I smell like volleyball.”

Mindlessly landing a harder push on the girl next to him, Shouyou hummed and laughed.

“Of course you do! You spend so much time here! Wait, what does volleyball smell like?”

Mai decided to kick him lightly in the ankles, making him stumble as she answered.

“Well, like volleyball.”

The two stood still and looked at each other in thought. Shouyou nodded with the most serious expression on his face. It was like he was saying ‘Of course. I agree.’

A few meters away, Tsukishima was observing deadpan. The tall boy made two big steps and shoved the twins apart, effectively breaking their impromptu poking-turned-kicking fight. The two didn’t even bat an eyelash. Mai went to join Kageyama in a deep split, while Shouyou laughed and settle on the setter’s other side, mimicking his stretching pose.

The sunlight entered the wide room and made the dust visible in places like little sparkles floating in the air whenever someone touched the net or the ball basket.

For a while there was peace and quiet. Kageyama and Shouyou argued over something stupid in a mellow tone, while Mai warmed up in silence. It was still early morning and the rest of the team was about to barge in at any moment. Yamaguchi came out of the storage room, rolling the ball unit and smiling at Tsukishima.

“What did they do this time, Tsukki?”

Tsukishima’s frown deepened and he glared at his friend. 

With a laugh Yamaguchi raised his arms in a surrender manner. “I could tell just by your face!”

“Mai-chan! Mai-chan!” The shrill yell cut the fresh morning air. Noya-senpai ran in the gym and barely managed to avoid Daichi’s hit, the third year coming right behind him.

“Be quiet, Noya!” Daichi scolded, booming after the short boy, who seemed to completely ignore him.

“Mai-chan!” Noya said again, this time way quitier. He crouched next to the girl and waited for her to straighten herself.

“I saw something on the internet last night! Can you do it?” With a grin he shoved his phone in Mai’s face. The girl had to push his hand a little so the image wasn’t a blurred incoherable mess of colours.

Two seconds and she was giving a thumbs up. “Yup!”

There was no need for Noya to prompt her to show. She laid on the ground on her stomach and with a fluid motion raised her body over her head, her legs landing on both sides of her head, her butt touching the top of her bun.

“Wooaaah!” Noya exclaimed, gasp mixing with Tanaka-senpai’s mesmerized scream.

Mai straightened one leg, only to bend it at the knee again, repeating with the other. 

“Does it hurt?” Yamaguchi asked tentatively. 

If she could, Mai would have shaken her head. “No. Not anymore. If done properly over the years, it’s fine. It does feel like… a pull? I feel a strain, but no pain at the moment.” 

She didn’t say anything about how the strain on her muscles and bones was like a sand watch. Sooner than later it will show her she has overdone it and she’ll have to stop. However, that was somewhere in the unforeseen future, far away, yet close enough to touch, like a mirage in a desert, you see it, you feel it, but it’s not really there. 

Mai giggled at Nishinoya-senpai’s silly attempt to copy her. She wasn’t starving yet, so the mirage wasn’t that clear. The sandgrains in her clock were slow, still falling like graceful snowflakes, floaty and beautiful. 

The morning went on in its usual flow, the boys did their training while Mai closed herself to her own device. 

After Karasuno’s loss there was something different about the team. Mai observed them as she waited for Kageyama and Shouyou to get ready for class. They were the same people, yet not. 

A powerful determination covered every inch of their being. And it wasn’t just these two freaks. No, all of the team was breathing air in a manner which showed purpose. The third years were leading a high-stakes battle with time, with themselves and with most teachers. By staying, they needed to prove they weren’t wasting their future. 

* * *

An unfamiliar figure peeked in the classroom and Mai’s attention was averted from Kageyama’s volleyball magazine to the boy in the entryway.

Kageyama seemed to recognize him and they exchanged curt nods. The boy had a shortly buzz cut hair and sun-kissed skin. He was on the tall side, but nowhere near close to Tsukishima. He looked nervous as he made a step inside and took in the few students sitting around the room. 

“Hinata-san?” he started meekly, almost, unsure yet with a strong tone. 

Mai blinked and after a fast scoop of the premises she addressed the boy. “My brother is still not here, but I can tell him you are looking for him.” She spoke politely. Shouyou had gone to do some errand on behalf on Kiyoko-san and Mai may or may not be extremely jealous that it wasn’t her doing stuff for Kiyoko-san.

The boy bit his lip and his cheeks reddened slightly. Kageyama was intensely reading an article over Mai’s shoulder.

“Uhm, no, I’m actually looking for you?” It came more like a question. 

“Me?” Mai repeated after him, making sure she heard correctly. “Are you sure? Maybe you got the wrong Hinata, it happens more often that you’d expect.”

Taking a deep breath, the boy bowed at the waist and introduced himself. “My name is Toshiro Mifune.” 

Mai’s eyes sparkled with recognition. “Woah! Like the actor!” She exclaimed and pointed a finger at Toshiro, before she realised how rude that was. Sheepishly she put back her hand and stood up, bumping into Kageyama in the process, making the setter grunt as her chair hit him in the stomach.

“I’m Hinata Mai, nice to meet you.”

In the short silence that followed Toshiro blurted out. “Are you free?”

Mai shook her head, locks of her orange hair swinging around her face, coming free of the ribbon holding them back. “No, actually it’s a pretty busy moment. The season is on in full force….” 

Toshiro’s expressions changed by the second from painful disappointment to deadpan relief.

“No, I mean, uh.” The boy spared Kageyama a glance and after making sure he was paying more attention to the magazine, now grasped in his hand, Toshiro coughed out a nervous laugh. 

“I meant, are you single?”

Not even giving it a second thought, Mai replied. “Yes, I compete in singles.”

Toshiro’s shoulders slanted slightly.

“No, no, as if, in your personal life. Are you single?”

This time Mai gave it a second or two before she answered. “I’m with Shouyou, usually. He is being a traitor right now, though, so I’m just with Kageyama at the moment.”

From behind her back Kageyama was now observing over the glossy paper. 

Toshiro gulped, looking from the tall setter to the cute girl in front of him. “You two are dating?”

“Of course not.” Mai said faster than a bullet. She shot a glance at Kageyama and laughed. “We aren’t.” 

Kageyama looked at her with slight offence, not sure why she was laughing. He quickly returned his attention to Toshiro, watching him as a hawk. The baseball player seemed more helpless than ever.

“Oh, then are you-” first bell sounded and the boy hung his head, his chin almost touching his chest. Quickly, he raised his hands to his face and patted his cheeks rather strongly, With a new power behind his actions and confidence coming out of who-knows where, Toshiro bowed again at Mai and turned to leave the room. 

“Thank you for your time, Hinata-san. I’ll see you again. And good luck.” With a sincere smile and a big wave, Toshiro left.

“He’s from the baseball club.” Kageyama informed her. Mai hummed and sat back in her place. She took out the books she would need for the next class. Suddenly, she was struck by something. 

“Wait, Kageyama! What if he was spying? Maybe he  _ was _ actually looking for  _ Shouyou _ !”

Kageyama frowned and his eyebrows threatened to meet. “I don’t think so. Once, when you were away, he came to speak to you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Shouyou said something about autograph?”

Mai gasped and hit her fist on her desk. “Ah! But he didn’t say anything! Maybe he was too shy… ”

The classroom begun filling with students returning from their break. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi entered at one point and took their seats. Shouyou was still gone. 

“Hey, Kageyama” Mai started slowly, making sure she had the boy’s full attention. “What if Toshiro-san likes you?”

Kageyama got the pinched in the face expression which Tsukishima loved. “What?”

“I think he may like-like you! He asked if we were dating and got all bothered by the idea!”

Kageyama didn’t know how to react. He wanted to deny it out loud. He wanted to tell the girl that Toshiro liked  _ her _ , not him, but how can he be sure? Everything not volleyball related was extremely confusing and he was always  _ not-sure _ .

From a few rows ahead of them, Tsukishima casually spun in his chair with a smirk. 

“He’s probably using Mai as an excuse to find more information about our great King.” Like a true firestarter, the tall blond ignited a spark and watched as Mai and Kageyama anchored dull gazes at the whiteboard, burning up. 

Yamaguchi crossed his arms at him, but Tsukishima just shrugged his shoulders and bit his lips to hide the rude laugh bubbling in his chest. “Look at them! It’s not even my fault, she came up with this bullshit by herself.”

When Shouyou came back, mere seconds before the teacher, he found his sister and Kageyama blankly sitting, unmoving and still.

When he asked them what was wrong, they ignored him. Kageyama, shaking his head roughly, muttered to Mai. “No way. It’s not true.”

“It totally is.”

“Excuse me, I’m here. Can you share with me, please.” 

“Kageyama has an admirer from the baseball club.” Mai whispered rapidly, leaning towards Shouyou’s ear. Her brother’s eyes got wide in surprise. His stomach twisted sharply and he had no idea why. 

“WHAT?!” Shouyou yelled. “I leave you two for five minutes and you, baka, get a confession? Who was it?! I’ll go and-”

“Hinata-san! If you haven’t noticed, class is in session already. Sit down or go to the principle.” Two pairs of identical eyes blinked at the teacher like deer caught in headlights. “Both of you.”

The twins sat and from the front of the room Tsukishima stifled another laugh, pretending to have a coughing fit. The teacher sent him a glare. “Tsukishima-san, if you are feeling ill, go to the nurse.”

* * *

“This leg! Up! Properly up!” Mai’s right calf was gripped firmly by a strong hand, surprisingly warm long fingers curled around her muscle as Anya pulled the leg in the position she wanted to see. 

“Toes!” The woman ordered and still held her hand on Mai’s limb. Mai rose to the toes of her left foot. The air felt stale and she felt like her back was damp with sweat. She was sure her hair was wet around her forehead. 

“Keep position!” Anya instructed in Japanese. The coach stepped away, sitting in her usual chair. Mai stayed still, right leg extended behind her back, curled at the knee, foot arching beautifully towards her head. One hand was holding her ribbon, the other raised to the side gracefully. 

“Stay!” Anya said, once again in accented Japanese. “Why you can hold it now, but when routine starts you mess it up, huh?” This time the woman switched to English, harshly repriminding Mai for what seemed like the hundredth time that day about that specific element. The girl didn’t say anything, her head was leveled, eyes fixed on the window behind Anya’s back. The woman crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair. 

“They look, Mai. Every detail, you know that. Every movement is punished or awarder. Hold it!” At the end Mai’s left foot had trembled with the tension, but at Anya’s cutting voice, she froze and kept the position.

“Now, start from the top. Mind the apparatus in your space.”

Like a well-oiled machine, the girl did as instructed. Repeating motion after motion, movements flowing in the air, followed by the mesmerizing twirl of a blue ribbon.

From her place, Anya observed like a statue at an exhibition, taking space, emitting aura of eminence, face blank like stone. 

“Better.” That was the only word to break through her lips for a while. The foreign woman watched as Mai stood in the middle of the carpet expectantly. “You can better.”

Mai gave an understanding nod and re-took her starting stance. With no prompting at all she begun from the start.

It went like that for the last twenty minutes of the session. By the end, Anya was tilting her head in the way Mai had come to know was a good sign. She was satisfied. 

When the woman prepared to leave, she handed Mai a white sheet of paper. 

“Give this to your mother. I emailed all the other information, we spoke on the phone.” Mai looked at the form she was holding and recognized the logo of Japan’s National Sport Federation. 

Anya touched her still perfectly styled hair and continued speaking. “This is a declaration which needs to be filled.” Her whole sentence came up in a mixture of English and Russian, however Mai was used to it and understood it all. 

Stepping into the main part of the gym, the first thing to really stand out was the silence. There were no thuds, no loud yells, no shoe squeaks. The whole team was gathered around the entrance, with Ukai-san and Takeda-sensei saying something to the giddy-looking boys.

Anya took her time putting her outside shoes on, greeting the adults properly, then the students. All of them returned her bow. She scared most of them to death. 

“Sho! I have training camp in Tokyo!” Mai happily waved the form around in the air, her other hand was holding Anya’s bag while the woman fiddled with the straps of her spotless white shoes.

Her twin jumped in one leap to her and grabbed the paper. 

“Woaaah!” he gushed and then locked his eyes with hers. “We’ll be going, too!”

The two clapped hands and only thanks to Anya’s quick reflexes, the document was spared a bad fate.

“Shouyou Hinata, Mai Hinata.” Anya didn’t raise her voice. However, both siblings froze. Takeda used the moment to announce that everyone, or more specifically Shouyou, Kageyama, Tanaka and Noya, needed to up their grades or they wouldn’t have the chance to go to Tokyo.

The next few minutes would have been funny if they weren’t tragic. Shouyou went as far as pleading with Ukai-san to help him study, but his illusions were crushed and he was brought down to reality.

Anya observed as composed as ever. Mai had run to pat Kageyama on the back, hoping to thrust some life in the boy. 

“Maybe your sister will help you study, Shouyou.” Sugawara-san helpfully offered. Her brother’s dreadful expression turned even more solemn at that. 

“This girl is no better.” Anya said, trading her bag for Mai’s declaration. The woman stood on the steps outside of the gym, looking extremely out of place. “Mai” at being addressed so directly, the girl tensed and bit her lip. “If you fail even one subject” the woman paused, thinking of the word she needed, but at the end she resolved to using English. “Not even the National Federation will be able to get you to Tokyo.” 

In between her teeth, Mai’s lip wobbled. She was in big trouble. “Do you understand?” Anya asked, her eyes burning holes in Mai. 

The small girl nonned once, not trusting her voice. She was about to panic just like the boys and she couldn’t do it in front of Anya.

The woman clicked her teeth in disapproval, very similar to the way Tsukishima does it. 

“I asked if you understand and I expect and answer.”

Some of the noised from inside the room stopped. 

“I understand” Mai said. All at once, the air felt colder than it was. Her skin got goose bumps and for a second Mai wondered if it was from the wind picking up outside or from the dread she felt, thinking about her math grades. Physics, too. It felt like the walls were closing in on her slowly.

“Good. And you.” This time the target of Anya’s elegant, gold wearing finger was Shouyou. The boy gulped, waiting. Anya pursed her lips. She waved her hand a little by her side as if trying to grasp something. Words, Mai knew. She was looking for words. With a mellow sigh, the woman opened her mouth. “If you don’t get your shit in order, I’ll personally supervise your tutoring sessions.” 

The threat was shot entirely in English but neither twin had a problem with the language after years of being around Anya. Shouyou paled, memories of the few times Anya helped with homework - she looking down on them with stone face while Mai and Sho cried over their notebooks, ink mixing with tears. Mai also twitched at the memory, horrified. Not a lot of the people in the gym understood what the woman said, but the ones who did, were not expecting the swear thrown in there.

“Yes, sir.” Shouyou saluted, then he realized what he said and hurried to correct himself. “I mean, yes, miss! Uuh, Anya-san.”

* * *

Mai was waiting by the bike rack for Shouyou and Kageyama. She wondered if it was safe to complain to her mom. Probably not, she hasn’t told about the latest test results… Exhaling angrily through her nose, Mai unzipped her jersey. It was starting to be warm even in the evenings.

“Mai, Mai!” Her twin ran to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Let’s ask Tsukishima to help us study!”

“No way.” Mai dismissed the crazy idea. From behind Shouyou, Kageyama glared at the ground, not saying anything.

“Don’t be like this baka.” Shouyou cried out with a finger poking Kageyama who was now standing next to him. “Any help we can get is better than nothing...” 

“But Tsukishima is…. Tsukishima.”

“I know, I know.” Shouyou admitted. His grip was now gentler. “Still better than Anya...”

Only at the mention of it, Mai changed her mind “Let’s go, yeah. Tsukki is the best.” 

Kageyama only grumbled something but at the two identical glares he got, he chose not to voice his thoughts this time.

* * *

Ukai-san was one of the softest at heart people that Mai knew. In appearance he came off as scary and the kind of person to be wary from, but when you get to know him, he was the opposite.

Mai had seen him personally help the grannies in the neighbourhood when they visited the store. He made great sacrifices in order to be able to take in the team and that alone was worthy of worship in her eyes.

He even let them stay extra time in the shop, so Tsukishima could evaluate where to start with his study help. 

“So, I think you can help the King with English just fine.” The tall first year stated, going through their notebooks and old tests. At this, the twins shared a glance and then nodded.

“Nevermind” Tsukishima said, frowning at Mai’s english workbook. “You can speak it, but you have no idea how it really works.” Mai pouted and bit back a remark. Yamaguchi brought over some steaming tea. Kei was now criticizing math.

“How do you even get the answer wrong to a problem, which has been solved in the book?! You literally just have to copy it from there!” The boy exclaimed outraged, banging on the table, making all the papers jump. Mai and Shouyou winced. 

“Shut up!” They called embarrassed. 

Tsukishima ignored them and handled Shouyou and Mai their Physics book and workbooks. 

“Okay, read this passage” He instructed sternly pointing out the exact place in the text. “Then answer the questions underneath.”

The twins took the task. Mai opened the book, while Shouyou opened the workbook.

The two nodded at each other and Mai started reading out loud. 

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi seemed confused, even Kageyama scrathed his head uncertain of what was going on. 

“What are you doing, Mai-chan?” Yamaguchi inquired.

“I’m reading the passage.”

“Read it to yourself, in your head. Why are you reading out loud?” 

“We share the work so we can be done faster. That’s how we always study. One reads and the other answers the questions. Then we change roles.” At her rather cheerful explanation, the shop became quite.

Ukai-san was thinking if this was genius or quite the opposite. From his place behind the counter he noticed how Tsukishima’s face got stuck in disbelief. Yamaguchi was silently opening and closing his mouth.

The old clock on the wall ticked away the passing seconds, its noise appearing louder than it was. The steam from the tea swam in the air next to the students, contrasting with their immobile bodies. Mai and Shouyou sensed something wasn’t right. 

Finally, Tsukishima broke the stillness of the room. “I knew you two were dumb, but that’s just another level.”

“Hey!” 

The venom of Tsukishima’s voice wasn’t as strong as he wished. He didn’t know if it was desperation, helplessness or perhaps, simply he was tired and couldn’t react accordingly. And of course, the two gremlins sensed he wasn’t being a total ass and wasn’t putting real malice in his words, because aside from the loud exclamation and the big pouts, they didn’t really fight back.

Taking his glasses off, Tsukishima faced Kageyama, while rubbing his eyes harshly. Yamaguchi patted his back in comfort.

“Where is your English book, I need to see where to start with you.”

“It’s at home.”

“Why?”

“When I take it, I don’t have enough space for my trainers in my bag.”

Ukai secretly winced in sympathy for Tsukishima. The boy clenched his teeth in anger. He opened his mouth to say something, to explode, but seeing Kageyama’s innocent, not-guilty face, he resorted to simply letting his forehead hit the wooden table, burying his nose among books and papers. “Tell me what words do you know in English?” Kei ordered, not picking up his head.

Right on the spot, faster than the old clock-hands, Kageyama blurted out the first word to come to mind. “Shit.” Even that had heavy accent. Ukai choked on the water he was drinking, while the twins gasped then hysterically laughed.

“Of course.” Tsukishima said. “Of course.”

“Anya-san said it!”

“Bakegayama! That’s amazing, say it again!”

“No, don’t listen to him, Kageyama! Never say it! Especially in front of Anya!”

“You are one to laugh, Hinata.” Kei sighed. He started to put everything on the table in order, practically shoving books at the twins to put away. However, they just blinked at him.

“Which one?” They echoed in sync. Tsukishima glared sharply and thrusted the last book in the siblings’ direction. not minding whose it was actually.

“Both of you, actually.” He got a lot of hand waving, sputtering and icoherable babble from them before they could spit out a meek “Not true!”

“Mhm”

“Okay, maybe… only a little. Please, help us Tsukishima! We are maybe, kind of stupid!”

“I don’t think anyone can help you” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please, leave a comment :) !
> 
> More Toshiro, more twins, more Kageyama, more volleyball, more studying (legitely, a mother once told me a story how her twins - a boy and a girl, study like this - one does one thing, the other does something else and they just copy afterwards ). Poor Tsukki. I'm starting to change some things from cannon at this point. Next chapter we'll meet Yachi, I love her. Anya speaks broken Japanese and not-bad English.


	11. xi

Life was a mixture of known and unknown. A colorful swirl of controllable events, drowning in streams of ungovernable occurrences. Since the forming of society humans have craved to understand, to see, to be prepared for every single trouble which was destined to stand in their way.

Usually unpredictable hardships made people freeze, give up or loose a significant amount of hope for themselves. Young psyche was delicate and like a big magnifying glass it made problems look enormous in otherwise tiny world. With time, as one grows, the problems don’t become smaller, neither the world becomes bigger. Just, with experience comes the ability to go through difficulties with certain manner which turns into habit. That way, like in video games, you build character. You level up.

Mai was somehow used to this system. She knew it. She started with small jumps and cute twirls, pretty leotards and laughter. At some point it turned into pain, tears and blood, aches she carried home, only to wake up with them in the morning and bring them to training so they could double their power. 

Pushing and pulling, stretching to unimaginable levels, clenching her teeth and clutching at Anya, counting the seconds until the suffering ceases, only to start anew. However, with determination and hard work she overcame these times and reached a place, where she learnt to live with all the troubles, to help her body accommodate, to know her tolerance level, not to overdo herself. Extend your abilities to the maximum and never stop pushing them. You can go further but not with your body as the prize. At least not immediately.

Sport has helped her handle hardships more rationally. It made her face failure in a more mellow way, even though she herself had trouble with being rather too perfection-orientated towards her own self.

She noticed a change in Shouyou, too. Since he joined the volleyball club, since he started playing regular games, he was braver in the face of an obstacle. 

Early in her career as a competitor, Mai made the decision to never let anything stop her. As far as she was healthy and of sound mind, she was going to strive for the top and have fun on the way.

That’s why she wasn’t going to let a stupid math equation or a formula with more letters than numbers stop her.

“I can’t do this!” Mai cried out, desperation bleeding through her cracking voice. She banged her head on the table, right between her outstretched arms. A muffled scream came from where her face was buried in the wood.

Tsukishima stared unimpressed at the fifth breakdown of the last twenty minutes and waited for the girl to be done with yelling. A minute later, Mai raised her head, ran her hands through her hair and took a deep breath. 

“Okay, I can do this.” Taking her pencil, she went back to the problems in her notebook.

Tsukishima carefully observed what she was writing and at one point grabbed the pink pencil from her hold. Instantly Mai sputtered in protest. “Hey!”

The tall boy ignored her and pulled her notebook over to himself. “Why does the ‘xy’ disappear halfway through? Where is it?” He demanded.

Mai pouted and crossed her arms. “I don’t need it. It’s just making things more complicated.”

Tsukishima was lost of words for a short while, only to gather his bearings and angrily erase the places she did wrong. He was clearly strongly frustrated, almost tearing the paper under the eraser. 

“You do need it! You can’t just remove parts of the equation as you wish!”

“But why are there letters and numbers, that’s not natural!” Mai whined. 

Once again, the blond middle blocker completely ignored the girl and threw her notebook at her, passing along the pencil. “Start from the beginning.” He practically growled and stood up with such force, his chair fell on the ground. In the classroom, the few remaining classmates jumped in surprise at the loud noise.

Dusting nonexisting dirt from his uniform, Tsukishima addressed his other students. “Kageyama, I hope you memorized the words from last night. Shouyou, you better finish these questions by the end of the lunch break. Yamaguchi helped you enough.” Both boys glared. Kageyama was helplessly trying to comprehend the english sentences in the glossy book on his desk. It just didn’t make sense.

Next to him, Shouyou was biting his pen, intensely reading a passage which required some open answers. They looked just as ready to give up on everything as Mai.

“Now, we are going to have lunch, you are going to continue struggling.” Kageyama had something to say as a response but Tsukishima was out of the door before the setter could open his mouth.

Yamaguchi bit his lip and excused himself. It was lunch time after all and the boy wanted to eat. Before he left the trio he offered them an idea. The new club to-be-manager was in advanced classes. Maybe she could help.

All of a sudden, sun shined through the clouds in Mai’s mind. She gathered her things and nudged the boys to hurry up with theirs. 

Ten minutes later, sitting next to the adorable and smart Yachi Hitoka, Mai felt relieved. The girl had such nice way of organizing the information! It was colourful and pretty to look at.

Yachi herself seemed really timid but quite smart and a very good person. 

Mai felt the need to thank her for the tenth time in between scribbling away.

“Thank you so much, Yacchan!” Mai bowed her head in gratitude and looked the girl in the eyes. “It’s so nice to know that there are good smart people! Stingyshima is very rude and he creates mental torture through tutoring!” At Mai’s dramatic exclamation, Yachi’s eyes widened as if she imagined a literal torture going on.

From across the girls Shouyou nodded in agreement. “You are a saviour, Yachi! And everything is so well written, even Kageyama can understand it!”

Kageyama glared at his teammate, kicking him under the desk but otherwise didn’t protest much verbally. He could understand the notes.

“Anyways, Yacchan. We can be a little stupid when it comes to school, but that’s only because we sleep during classes and can’t really think about anything besides gymnastics or volleyball.”

“Eeeh!” Yachi was not sure how to react. Firstly, she was communicating with boys from the volleyball team, and she managed to disrespect one of them about his height. Secondly, she was sitting next to a national champion. And said champion was copying her math notes on algebra. Her brain was on its way to overheat.

Though, she wasn’t given the opportunity as the twins decided to speak. Together and then over each other.

“What kind of tea do you like, Yachi?” Their voices chimed in sync and Yachi was stunned. It was the first time she ever witnessed people talking in synchrome out of the blue. They didn’t give her chance to answer.

“Or maybe juice, Yacchan?”

“Hm, Kageyama likes the milk, so it has to be good. We can buy you that?”

“Ah! What about a chocolate bar?”

“Mango candy?”

“Matcha mochi?”

“Onigiri?”

Yachi’s eyes were darting between the two siblings, each spawning a new option faster than light.

At some point, Kageyama’s eyebrow twitched and he lightly hit the desk with an open palm. “Hinata, stop and do what we came here to do!” The twins listened and begun writing without uttering a word aside from a sincere “Sorry.” During the following weeks, Yachi would find out that whenever he needed to address both Mai and Shouyou, Kageyama used their surname. 

Almost as an afterthought, the setter added “Of course we’re getting her milk, don’t be dumb.”

“Hey, how are we going to tell Tsukishima we found someone else to help us?”

“No, Sho! We can’t. We’ll hurt his feelings.”

Yachi was confused and her head still felt like spinning out of this reality. But, it was also pleasant in a way. The atmosphere was light and easy-going. She was sitting next to a national champion. The walls were closing in on her again.

* * *

Mai would never regret getting enrolling Karasuno, but she couldn’t help but admire schools with proper gymnastics base. Shiratorizawa was the best school in their region sportswise. Their resources were unmatched and their representatives were on national level of skills. 

Visiting their campus for a day of joined training was a pleasant experience for the orange-haired girl. Some of her friends were studying here, and to have the opportunity to catch up with them in between exercises was a welcome change to her usual schedule.

For a while she put all thoughts of math and tests at the back of her head and just immersed herself in the strict commands of their instructors. 

The place was unfamiliar, however, the stretch of her muscles and the dull thuds of her clubs, the swirl of the ribbon and the thrill of the hoop were all a second nature by now and they never changed.

At the end of the day, Mai followed after some of her friends. They gave her a tour of the school grounds and with a lot of giggles and tired laughter, the girls headed to the changing rooms, in order to put on their school uniforms.

On the way, Mai threw a towel around her neck and took out her phone. She had no messages. With a pouty sigh she dropped the phone in her bag. The sky over the school was starting to fill with light orange tones, still almost unnoticeable. The air was warm and after hard training, Mai grimaced at the thought of exchanging her breezy shorts and tank top for her uniform. 

“Hey, who is Ushijima talking to? I haven’t seen these boys here before.” Her companions stopped so suddenly that Mai bumped into one of them. 

“What?” Asked confused Mai, taking a look around her friends. That’s when her eye caught it. The orange. Her orange. Her eyes widened and she gasped in surprise.

“Shouyou! Kageyama!” Clutching the strap of her bag and throwing a messy goodbye to her girlfriends, Mai ran quickly to her brother. The two boys were just as startled to see her. They were with someone really tall.

She reached them in no time and smiled in greeting. “How did you get here?”

The two boys looked at one another before replying “We got lost while running.”

Mai snorted in amusement. Behind her back the short girl could feel a looming presence. People are able to distinguish when someone is observing them. Like an ancient survival instinct, your body gives signals when it feels like it’s being stared at intensely. Remembering the big boy she saw, she suddenly stiffened. Now that she thought of it, the atmosphere felt heavy. Sho’s sunny smile was strained and he had determination firing up behind his eyes. Kageyama wore his normal poker face, but after knowing him for a while, Mai was able to distinguish the irritation in him. They were both high strung, like the strings of a guitar, taut so tight, they were on the verge of snapping. 

Not many things could have lead to such situation and Mai’s gut was telling her it has everything to do with the mysterious figure behind her. 

Gracefully she spun on her heels and locked eyes with a face which was familiar.

“Oh!” She gaped in recognition “Ushijima-san! I saw you some weeks ago at that ‘National youth sports’ gathering.” 

Ushijima nodded once, silently acknowledging her words. He moved his eyes from her to Shouyou and then back to her. 

“My name is Hinata Mai, Shouyou is my twin brother.” She bowed. She knew with her arrival, the tension was cut short and whatever they were talking about wasn’t going to continue. A teacher passing by, scolded Kageyama and Shouyou for trespassing and quickly kicked them out. 

A quick bow and she left Ushijima standing in front of the gym, her brother’s parting promise still bouncing in his mind.

She decided to forego changing clothes and instead called Anya to tell her she would be going home with Shouyou and Kageyama. 

The first few minutes of their journey back were silent. Mai used the time to undo her bun, letting her plait fall down her back. It provided a slight relief to her scalp.

“They have a big bus for the volleyball team.”

Shouyou’s voice carried out like a hum, like a thought getting free with no permission. Every word coming out more shrill than the previous and by the end of the sentence he was waving his arms around. 

“I saw it! It was so awesome!”

“We’ll beat them.” Kageyama said. He didn’t raise his voice, he didn’t grow, he didn’t even stutter it in between clenched teeth. He simply made a statement in which he strongly believed. The twins blinked and in full sync nodded and breathed out a confident confirmation. 

“Of course.” 

The streets were starting to pick up on traffic as it was nearing the time people usually commuted home. While waiting on a traffic light, Mai tilted her head back and grinned at the sky. Shouyou and Kageyama’s motivation was making her giterry. A red sign caught her attention. It was entirely unknown to her. That wasn’t the way they had come in that morning.

The light turned green and the three teenagers crossed the street. Once on the other side, Mai grabbed her twin by the shirt, halting him in place. “Hey, Sho, do you have any idea how to get back?”

“Kageyama does!” Stated her brother with a carefree laugh. Kageyama tensed and glared at him.

“Boke! I thought you knew the way!”

Shouyou glared right back, freeing himself from Mai’s grip, he pointed angrily at his teammate. “You were going to study here and you don’t know how to go back, stupid!”

Mai’s eyebrow twitched and she poked both of the boys in the ribs, making them exclaim loudly. 

“Both of you are stupid! How could you not remember how to return to Karasuno?! Did you run with a blindfold on?!”

“Hey!”

“Hn.”

People were looking at the arguing trio suspiciously. The neighborhood was a quiet one and any conflicts in the streets were frowned upon.

Kageyama pulled the twins to the side, avoiding any pedestrians. 

“I’ll call mom” Mai offered, her phone in her hand already. Sho snatched the device from her hold. 

“No way. She’ll kills us.” 

Mai wanted to protest but she knew her twin was right. Shouyou gave her back her phone and she put it away. “Tsukishima?”

“He’ll laugh maniacally and then ignore us.”

“Anya?”

“Do you actually want to die?”

Now that they weren’t making any ruckus, nobody paid them a second glance. The air was slowly becoming chillier as the sun descended. Mai took out her jersey and zipped it over her tank top. Shouyou fidgeted nervously. 

Kageyama's phone broke the silence. A small red dot blinked in one of its edges in tune with the shrill melody of it. The setter held the phone, blinking at it.

"It's Daichi-san"

Mai and Shouyou twitched in place before they reacted verbally.

“Pick up!” Shouyou demanded.

“Don't pick up!” Advised worriedly Mai.

The twins looked sharply at each other, exchanging scowls. Kageyama said nothing. In the background his phone went on with its small red dot and its beeping melody. Mai bit her lip while Shouyou scratched his head.

“Don't pick up!” Cried out Shouyou taking in a strong grip the hem of Kageyama’s shirt.

“Pick up!” Mai pleaded, seizing Tobio’s shirt on the side opposite of Shouyou’s.

Kageyama send them murderous glares and pressed the green button, answering the call. He didn’t push the siblings away, but leaned back as much as their clinginess allowed him.

Mai couldn’t make out what Daichi-san said exactly, but she could hear his captain tone clearly.

For a second Tobio said nothing. He stared mutely at the sky. The other side of the line went quiet and Mai wondered if Daichi had hang up in anger. Then, with a accompanying clench of his teeth, very Tsukishima-like, Kageyama spoke.

“I don’t know.”

Mai raised herself on her toes, never letting go of her friend’s shirt. That was she got closer to the phone and managed to distinguish Daichi’s words.

“What do you mean you don’t know where you are? Is Hinata with you?”

Kageyama nodded before he remembered Daichi can’t see him.

“Both of them.”

“Mai too? Where did you find her?”

“At Shiratorizawa.”

“You went to Shiratorizawa?!”

“Ushijima-san lead us there.”

“You met with Ushijima?!!”

By this point, Daichi was pretty much yelling. Mai cringed in sympathy for Kageyama and stepped aside. Her brother stayed, grasping his teammate’s shirt, now using both hands. His face was paling fast.

A silent vibration in her pocket distracted her. Horror passed on her face at the thought that her mom was calling or, god forbid, Anya. Checking the device she saw Sugawara-san’s name flash across the screen. Without a second thought she picked up.

“Describe everything you see around you.” Suga cut directly to business, not giving Mai time to greet him. The girl did as asked. Meanwhile the boys were still listening to Daichi lecturing them. Their faces seemed ashen.

“Okay, I think I know where this is.” Suga said. His voice was light, but Mai knew Suga was actually scary and he was probably going to take over for Daichi when they came to get them.

“Stay put, don’t leave this spot and don’t talk to strangers. Okay?” 

“Okay.” Mai agreed easily. 

“Good. Daichi, stop your nagging and let’s go. Don’t look at me like that! They are your kids during training and when they do something dumb like this.” Mai winced at the second part. They were in trouble for sure. She was about to apologize, but once again Suga beat her to it. “We are coming, don’t move, don’t speak to anyone, don’t take food from unknown people and if Ushijima comes, scream for help.”

“But… why?” Mai’s question was left unanswered because Suga had already hanged up. 

* * *

If there was one thing Mai unknowingly managed to learn from life it was the fact that nothing came for granted. Every single thing in your existence was a matter of tremendous effort. School achievements, medals, friendships. Hard work was drilled in her consciousness as the only single way of simply _being_ . Being a winner, being a fighter, being a sister, being a friend, being _alive_. 

When her knees hurt, or her waist aches, when the muscles in her thighs and shins pull painfully at every step, Mai doesn’t think about it. It’s just her way of existing. Her every day, her every week, just the way she is. 

One time, after a hard day in the gym, with red-rimmed eyes, tear tracks and a slight limp, Mai stood in Shouyou’s embrace while their mom spoke to Anya in worried whispers. 

Anya was explaining to the woman how every gymnast shed tears on the carpet. It wasn’t an easy feat to make your body move with the fluidity and the grace required of these girls. It was a painful process of continuous work, of dedication and self-motivation.

While the two adults had their conversation, the twins stood quietly in the hallway. Mai’s eyes felt heavy and dry, while her face felt sticky with sweat and tears. Next to them, Natsu slept peacefully in her stroller.

“Don’t you want to stop and escape?” Sho whispered in her ear. Mai shook her head and took a deep breath.

“All of this is a result of who I am, all of this is because of who I want to be and who I’ll become in the future. I can’t escape from myself, Sho.”

Not long afterwards she took her first internationally recognised gold. She breathed for hard work, she craved it and just like her brother, she knew no break or giving up. But it wasn’t easy. The pressure, the physical and the mental heaviness sometimes were too much. 

However, the satisfaction of reaching a set goal was like a painkiller. So the moment she received her passing test grade, she felt like a stone fell from her heart and it could beat properly again.

She felt a little sorry for Kageyama and Shouyou, but she had no doubt they would manage to reach Tokyo in some way.

And while they were sweating over exams, she would sneakily take her brother’s spot on the bus to Tokyo. It wasn’t her first time in the big city, but some of the boys were first-timers.

“Now, Mai, you stay close, don’t go anywhere without us. Anya should be there around lunch time to collect you.”

Mai pursed her lips, hiding a pout. “I know Suga-san.” One time. One time she gets lost because of her annoying brother and it will haunt her forever.

“Oya, oya, did baby-crow get in trouble?”

At the sudden arrival of a tall, dark-haired, smirking boy, Mai tensed. She hid behind Daichi and blinked at Nekoma’s captain. 

“Hello, Kuroo-san.” Suga greeted with a polite smile and then left to talk to Yaku-san. Daichi huffed and smiled his scary totally-not-a-happy-smile grin, which brought nightmares to the first years.

“Kuroo.”

“Daichi.”

Mai chuckled nervously and turned around in order to distance herself from the scary captains’ aura. However, her departure was cut short by a question and a hand on her shoulder.

“Where is your brother? And the gloomy setter?” Kuroo did a quick check in the students still gathered in the parking lot and didn’t see the freak duo anywhere.

Daichi’s hand felt both comforting and heavy on her. Mai wanted to pout at him. She wasn’t going to get lost, dammit. One time.

“Supplementary exams. They’ll be here later. I passed mine.” She felt the need to be proud of herself.

Daichi let her shoulder go so he could stifle a cough, masking his “Barely.” 

Mai glared at the older boy but didn’t say anything. From opposite of them, still smirking up to his ears, Kuroo found the whole exchange amusing.

The two captains then renewed their staring contest and Mai just stood at the side awkwardly.

“Can I go now?”

“No.” Daichi grunted.

“I won’t get lost! From all of you, I’m actually the only one who’s been in Tokyo before. Many times.”

“No.” Now the boys were gripping hands in a handshake which looked too painful to be a simple greeting.

“I’m not a kid!” Mai protested, but didn’t move to leave. After all, Daichi had the ultimate card in his possession - Anya’s phone number. If it was Suga instead, she would have been already free.

“Mhm.”

“I’ll be just over there, bothering Tsukishima. You’ll be able to see me the whole time.”

“No. Leave Tsukishima alone, I don’t want to have to break a fight.”

Just as Mai was about to actually whine, Kuroo put forward an offer.

“You know, Mai-chan, Kenma should be over there, behind that collum with the green marking. He has a new game or something. He’ll be more than _thrilled_ to tell you all about it before it's time for me to confiscate it.”

Mai’s eyes sparkled in interest and she looked pleadingly at Daichi. A deep sigh and a curt nod later, the small girl was running towards were Kenma was hiding in the shade.

“Don’t worry, Kenma is instructed to not leave the area and to stay put. He gets lost easily.”

At Kuroo’s reassurance, Daichi rubbed his eyes and then patted the other captain on the back in gratitude. The fate of a captain wasn’t easy. He had a whole team to look after. A whole team and a tiny national champion who somehow found her way in their close-knit family. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please, leave a comment :) !
> 
> Sorry, I took a 'short' break around Easter and then it turned into procrastination, ooops. Working from home can confuse a schedule, huh?  
> Anyways, I live for DaiSuga parents, not even sorry about that. Kuroo knows their pain. Aaaah I wrote the different parts in the span of three weeks or so, perhaps they may feel slightly not really connected, but I post what I've got :D Next time I plan more interaction between the twins and the other schools. Pray for Tsukki, no reason, he just has to be around everyone.


	12. xii

“Mai! Come here immediately!”

Mai got up from her bed and made her way to the kitchen, where her mom was yelling.

“What?” The girl asked confused. Shouyou had come home apparently, today was the first time she left before him, because she had to go to the RG Centre after school. And obviously she missed something major, judging by the bruise on Sho’s face and his arms. 

“What did I tell you the last time you got in a fight?!” Their mother demanded angrily, sternly locking her daughter with a single powerful look.

“Huh?” Mai managed to get out, not sure what she was being accused of.

“How many time do I have to repeat myself not to hit your brother?!”

“What?!” Mai exclaimed.

“Look at his cheek! You are not little kids anymore to get in fights!” 

Sensing the upcoming punishment, Mai was fast to defend herself. “I didn’t hit him! Mom!”

At the same time, her brother finally decided to speak. “She didn’t hit me! As if I’ll let her hit me that way...”

Mai scoffed and crossed her arms. “Yeah, if it was me, you’ll be missing a tooth or two!”

Mom wasn’t amused. “Really, Mai?”

“... Okay, maybe you’ll just have the same bruise but whatever.”

Pausing to rub her head because of the headache settling in, their mom sighed.

“Who hit you then?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Shouyou mumbled and sat heavily on one of the chairs around the table.

“Shouyou!” 

“It really doesn’t matter, mom. I also hit back, so it was my fault, too.”

Frowning and then pointing her finger at her oldest children, the mother raised her voice for the last time before she left the room with a huff.

“If I get called in the police one day for one of you, or worse - both of you, I’ll just say I don’t know you and you’ll have to sleep in the arrest with the yakuza and Toshimaya-san’s son who steals dogs for ransom in the neighborhood!”

“Mom!” both of them cried out in offense. Then it was silent again and Mai sat opposite of her twin.

“... Who was it?”

“I got in a fight with Kageyama.”

“Who threw the first punch?”

“I did.”

“As if. It was him, right?”

“It was me!”

Mai tilted her head and sharpened her eyes as if to say ‘I know you are lying, bro.’ Shouyou pouted and whined when his sister didn’t buy his bluff.

“Okay, fine, it was Tanaka-senpai.”

As expected, Mai laughed at the image of it all, then quieted down so the two of them were left once again to sit in silence. They sat there not saying anything for whole five minutes. At one point, Mai moved so she was now right next to Sho and took out her phone and until it was time for dinner, they watched videos of the last RG World’s, clapping and wincing when appropriate. For the duration of it all, the boy managed to forget his troubling thoughts.

* * *

“Hey, Sho?”

“Hm”

“Are you really okay?”

“No.”

“Hm.”

Mai put the book on the floor and swiftly scooped up so she was pressed against Shouyou. His shoulders were hunched and his eyes were burning a hole in the green plush rabbit he was hugging. They had the task of putting Natsu to bed that night. Taking turns to read stories to their little sister, the twins stayed in her room some time after she finally fell asleep.

“What if-” his voice was unusually quiet, to the point where Mai had to strain her ears even though she was sitting right next to the boy. “What if we never go back to the way we were before today?”

On the bed Natsu turned in her sleep, sighing, only to once again still again in deep sleep.

For a while Mai didn’t say anything. She bit her lip in thought. The girl felt the double meaning of her brother’s words. What if their game sense hinders the team? But most importantly, what if my first volleyball friend is lost? What if our connection broke? 

“You know Sho, you have never let any obstacles get in your way. Any. You are the strongest-willed person I know! And I know a lot of professional sportists.”

The boy said nothing, but his hands squished the toy even harder. Mai gently put her own hand over his and rubbed at the tensed knuckles.

“This is just another hurdle you’ll have to find a way to overcome. And if anyone can stand up and jump over this - it’s you.”

Shouyou relaxed slightly and leaned into his sister’s touch. They stayed like this, not talking, not moving. Natsu’s regular and deep breathing was the only sound in the otherwise silent room. Through the curtain the sky was peeked in on them, dark, but it wasn’t darker than the room itself, where shadows danced along the walls. The moon and the stars outside provided light and comfort. 

“And if you think Kageyama will stop being your friend because you two had a go at it, you are stupid.”

Shouyou glared at Mai. The girl chuckled and stuck out her tongue.

“We should go.”

“Where?”

“To sleep.”

“Mhm.”

“Mai?”

“Hm?”

“Can you read the story again?”

“...Fine.” With the book back in her hands, Mai took a deep breath and started reading. “Once upon a time, the happy and always smiling sun cried….”

By the end of the story, Shouyou had fallen asleep on Natsu’s fluffy carpet, still holding on the toy rabbit. Looking at him and his peaceful face, Mai’s lips turned up in a tired smile and the girl laid down next to her twin. ‘Just for five minutes and I’ll go to my room’.

She curled up to Shouyou and as if driven by instinct and not by thought, her hand found his. Over the green fur of the plushie, the twins intertwined their fingers. She was out in seconds, her body way too tired to fight the pull of sleep. 

In the dark sky, outside of the dark and silent room, the stars and the moon stood guard. They made sure the shadows stayed on the walls, because when the sun cries, it’s their job to keep him safe, for his light was the reason they exist. 

* * *

The next morning, after a full night sleep on the carpet in Natsu’s room, the twins had to separate once again. Mai was to go to a training camp in a national sport complex somewhere in the outskirts of Tokyo, while Shouyou would stay in school until the team’s next camp later the same week.

Even though both of them had aching in their bones from the uncomfortable floor, they departed with mellow smiles and strong hugs. Mai followed her brother with her eyes until he disappeared from her sight, riding his bike on his way over the mountain.

In the passing days she received updates about the fight, about the aftermath, how Sho was taken to Ukai-san’s grandfather. Even Kageyama answered her text and admitted he went to Oikawa-san for help. In between ribbons and hoops, she allowed herself to peek in on her friends back home. She desperately hoped her time away didn’t distance her from the people she came to enjoy so much. 

The summer sun was glaring down on Earth most of the time these days, so Mai and the other girls at the camp went running very early in the morning or late at night.

Whenever she was jogging she liked to imagine Shouyou and Kageyama there with her. Their mindless banter, the irritated glares and half-assed shoves. With Worlds right around the corner she didn’t have much time to delve on melancholy. Anya made sure the young girl had her head straight where it should be.

Routine after routine, group training, individual sessions, helping the juniors. The days rolled faster than a blink and before she knew it, Shouyou was to go to his own camp in Saitama. Her brother repeatedly assured her everything was more than fine, but she knew him and Kageyama were yet to speak to each other. The fight had shifted something and she hoped it wasn’t too much for a bridge to be built so the boys could meet somewhere in the middle.

* * *

Of course, as many things in the life of a Hinata, volleyball was the mending ground and not even four hours after Shouyou send her a picture of a regular transmitting tower, Mai got the news that Kageyama and her twin were not only on speaking, but also on proper-playing-volleyball terms.

She couldn’t help but feel relief for them. After that she was able to lose her mind even better in her work. Exercises followed routines, which were accompanied by everyone’s expectations. The highest being her own, like always. 

Anya was more critical than ever, the weight of Worlds pressuring her, too. The woman drilled commands and criticism in every language she knew and Mai had no choice but to execute everything beyond perfection. It was expected of her. She had to be Japan’s Grace. She had to fight for that gold and she had to win it. She saw it in everybody’s eyes. 

Unknown and known faces would come to her training sessions and observe silently. Their critique was the loudest even though they never opened their mouths. She didn’t know who they are, but they knew who she is. And they knew what they wanted from her. To make everyone proud.

So she performed clubs, ball, hoop, ribbon, then repeating, then, afterwards - once again from the beginning.

Her legs burned and her toes had lost feeling after the sixth day. But she pushed and pushed herself.

More often than she liked to admit, Mai got lost in the idea that she should be more than human while on the carpet. She would ignore pain to almost an unhealthy level because she told herself how it was normal to hurt, how pain was a price to pay for gold. If other could pass that barrier so could she. But she never thought she was enough. She lost touch of the border of her own limit.

That’s when Anya stepped in. 

Mai was breathing deeply, her lungs fighting for as much oxygen as her airways allowed. Small drops of sweat were donned upon her forehead and her red cheeks puffed a little with every deep exhale she made. The girl was kneeling on the carpet, an orange ball rolling casually in the opposite direction. Her left leg was throbbing in an alarming way but she couldn’t get up right now to check.

“What do you think of this?” Anya, sitting on the side asked with emotionless tone and a rather sharp gesture to the carpet and her sullen form on it. For once, the room was empty aside form the two of them. The music of her ball routine was fading in the background.

“What do you think?” Anya questioned again. Her tone didn’t change.

Mai bit her lip for a second, then she had to open her mouth not to speak, but to continue breathing deeply.

“You are a wonder, Mai Hinata.”

Since she was little, Mai always found it interesting how the russian woman would use her two names in addressing sometimes. It wasn’t in bad spirits, it was a custom, apparently.

“You can do miracles. You  _ do _ them. But you forget. You forget you are…. you are...” 

With a heavy sigh the woman stood up and in elegant strides made her way over to her charge. A second passed in silence and Mai wondered if Anya had lost the word she needed. It happened.

“Brakeble. Like a glass doll. Pretty but fragile.” In a mix of Russian and English, Anya’s words carried on in a gentle mutter across the empty big training hall.

Mai, finally taking normal breaths, blinked at her mentor.

“I-I-”

“You’ll end yourself way before you reach twenty if you continue that way.” 

Anya’s japanese sounded sharper and harsher, but perhaps that was her intention.

Mai winced. One can never escape from the truth, and Mai was never one to escape from anything.

“You get lost here.” A warm hand landed softly on her head and stroked her hair with care. “You limit yourself in that way, Mai and your body suffers.”

Her eyes watered but Mai didn’t let any tears get away.

“Let’s go to the medical center and then I know what will help you. You should believe in your mind more, Mai. Let yourself be free completely and never lose sound of what your body tells you. If it needs a break - you rest. If your muscles go over the limit - you tell me or a medic. You are not a robot.”

In times like this, when a part of her soul was far away, Mai was grateful for having Anya with her. 

* * *

“Shouyou Hinata!”

Shouyou shrieked in surprise and landed from his jump on his ass. Kageyama flinched, staring wide-eyed at the woman in the entrance of the gym. A lone volleyball landing with a thud on the ground in between the two boys.

The hot summer sun had already disappeared and the evening provided some needed chill in the air. The scheduled matches and practise drills of the day were done and the few still unlocked gyms were occupied by mixed groups of students, focusing on a specific skill to develop or just relaxing with friends.

Shouyou hadn’t really had time to check his phone so he had no idea Anya was coming. Her loud and steady voice scared him shitless as he didn’t expect it. 

The few other boys from various teams in the room looked with interest at the foreign woman. Like always, she stood tall and proud, poking her head inside, but not stepping in as not to have to take her shoes off. 

She bowed in greeting to everyone, some stunned players returning the bow in confusion.

“You still jump like that!” Anya exclaimed with a rare smile.

“Anya-san!”

Shouyou hurried to run to her. “What are you doing here?!”

Anya patted the boy on the shoulder and then tried to arrange his messy hair. “I delivered something.”

Used to the woman’s ways, Shoouyou didn’t even blink. He stood still and allowed Anya to squish and thread with fingers through his hair. “Huh?”

Then he saw it. Saw her. Over Anya’s shoulder he spotted an unmistakable orange hue. His sister was there, speaking with Yamaguchi and Yachi outside.

“Mai!”

For exactly thirty seconds nothing else mattered. The twins ran to each other and shared a quick hug.

“Well, I’ll be going now. Mai, no routines, only stretching and light exercises. I’ll get you tomorrow evening.”

With a last bow and a haste ‘Goodbye’ Anya made her way to the parking lot.

The siblings giddy to the core of their bones, almost trembling with excitement, clutched at each other’s hands and swaying on their toes, started talking one over the other, without any pauses to actually lead a comprehensible conversation.

“We travelled during the night-”

“I was made responsible for two groups of juniors-”

“The quick attack-”

“My new leotard for ball-”

“Then Kuroo-san-”

“I ate a bad banana-”

“My blister fell and the blood-” 

“Anya said-”

“Old man Ukai told me-”

“This is not Tokyo tower-”

“Anya drove here so fast-”

“OOOKAY!”

Daichi cut them off by gently pushing them away from one another. 

“I have no idea how you always manage to do this, but, please, stop.”

The Hinatas shared a look and shrugged their shoulders in synch. 

“Sorry, Daichi-san!” They chirped together. The captain mock-glared at the two siblings then threatened them in behaving and went to take a bath with the other third years.

“Oi, boke. Come here.” Kageyama was standing by the door of the gym, scowling.

“Okay, Bakegayama.” The twins choired, never minding who Kageyama meant to call in the first place. Shouyou ran to his friend, but Mai followed in slower pace, limping. That’s when everyone noticed it. On her left leg, from hip to knee, a few strands of kinesio tape enclosed her skin along her tight. The colorful material was visible clearly because the girl was wearing her training shorts.

The tiny first year made her way in steady steps, with a slight limp and a big grin.

When she reached the two boys, Shouyou frowned and pressed their noses together. 

“Mai.”

His short whisper bore a heavy message. The girl smiled gently and rubbed their touching noses the way they did as kids.

“I’m fine. I overdid it a little but it’s fine. The limp is not that much from pain as it is from the tightness and the pull of the tape itself.”

When you know someone the way these two know each other, you can see through any lie. And Shouyou felt relieved that his sister was telling the truth. She was going to be okay. The three of them entered the gym, ignoring onlookers. For a while Mai was content to toss to Kageyama and Sho. They fell in a familiar pattern and she felt happy and light.

“Oya, oya! Who is this!”

This has to be Bokuto-san. Mai heard a lot about Sho’s new friends and how they helped him. Bokuto was just as eccentric as Shouyou described him over the phone. And he, for real, had Tsukki trailing after him.

“Tsukki!” Mai yelled and waved energetically at the tall middle blocker. 

Tsukishima’s brow twitched when he noticed the orange-haired girl. “Tsukki, did you really make friends?!”

“I’m heading to bed.”

“Aaaah, Tsukki, don’t be like this! Running away from girls is not cool!”

“Kuroo-san, let me go.”

The quiet of the summer evening was filled with noise and ruckus, but Mai couldn’t help but grin like an idiot. She felt really happy being here.

“Akaashi! Look, it’s a girl Hinata! So tiny!”

“Bokuto-san! You are scaring her!”

Mai peeked at the buff older boy from behind Kageyama. He looked big and friendly. 

Introductions were made and after the initial novelty of having a girl, a Hinata girl, a national champion Hinata girl at the gym, the boys settled in a friendly game while Mai rested on the side, keeping the score.

Her left leg was stretched in a split, the position relieved some of the tension in the limb. She observed her twin and how different he looked from the confused and hurt boy she left in Miyagi a week ago. She was happy because he was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please, leave a comment :) !
> 
> Work has been a bother recently with the upcoming end of the school year, so sorry about the lack of any updates! A few more weeks to go and then, in summer I'll be able to be more regular! I hope all of you are doing fine and staying healthy :)  
> Next chapter there will be more direct interactions between Mai and the other schools.
> 
> This chapter is kind of a mess, but you get what you get, I guess :D  
> (Honestly, the moment I was about to post it, my internet died and I don't know if this wasn't a sing :D )


	13. xiii

“Hm, this is the Tiny Bear right there!”

“Pff, Sho! It’s called Little Bear!”

“This is a spoon.”

Two pairs of eyes shot amused looks at their setter friend before the twins snickered. Shouyou rolled on the grass in laughter. Kageyama glared at him and attempted to kick the boy but missed the ever-moving figure of his teammate. 

“Have more imagination, Kageyama!” Mai demanded, giggling slightly and gently pushing Tobio in the side. The tall boy glared at her but said nothing. Shouyou had retaken his place, laying between Mai and Kageyama on the grass between two of the gym buildings. The night sky was very clear and little stars blinked at the three students. Their light was nowhere near as strong as it was in the mountains at home, but it was still easy for the three of them to connect different figures. 

Mai hummed in thought. She rested her head on the ground and bit her lips. The stars in the city looked dull and even more far away. Tiny and insignificant. Yet still somehow magnificent. 

“It does look like a spoon.” The girl said after a few quiet moments. Sho grinned but said nothing. Kageyama nodded and averted his gaze from the sky. Shouyou’s hair seemed brighter than the stars. For a second his view fell on the building nearest to them, the gym closed earlier than usual as per request of their coaches. Tobio’s fingers were itching to train some more, to become better, to feel the ball at his fingertips, to set for Shouyou and see him fly so  _ high _ . 

“Do you know the story of the Great Bear and the Little Bear?” Mai’s voice, gentle and calm, broke Tobio from his thoughts. He propped his head against his head, resting his elbow on the soft grass. “There are two Bears?” He asked confused. 

Shouyou’s arms twitched, then his legs did too, and Kageyama wondered if the small middle blocker was feeling the same hunger for training as him. 

“Yes!” Mai giggle again. She sat up properly and extended her arm, pointing at nothing in the air. “Close to the Small spoon, there is a Great one. A Big Spoon.”

Kageyama tried to follow her finger and pretended to notice which shining dots were the Spoon bears. 

Kageyama was hyper-aware of every move Shouyou made next to him. The two of them were practically flush with each other, knees and thighs brushing together and elbows poking every ten seconds or so. Shouyou was warm but not in a bad way. His face was stuck in excitement from the moment he saw his sister. The tiny girl herself was wearing an identical expression. She cleared her throat and clapped her hands together.

“So, two brothers were living in the forest, alone.” She started speaking. Every once in a while she would tilt her head to one side or the other as she spoke. Tobio observed her for short moments and then resumed his not-staring-at Shouyou. 

“They did everything together. All of their lives they had only one another.”

Shouyou was gazing up in the dark abyss as he listened. Tobio noticed how big his eyes were. His skin looked smooth with shadows dancing across it from one of the street lights in the perimesis. His chest was moving up and down in a relaxed manner. A hand was casually thrown over his stomach. 

“One day, when they went hunting, they saw a bear.”

“Oooh!”

Shouyou’s sudden exclamation broke Kageyama completely out of his drifting mind and the tall boy shook his head to clear it a little. 

“Yeah, it was a big one! Bigger than both of them! They were scared and decided to run away. But the bear was faster. It caught them and tore them in pieces!” The tale was accompanied by the proper gestures. Mai was now standing up and jumping around, hands made in claws. She bared her teeth and slashed the air as if hitting someone.

“The bear ate the two brothers and went to sleep.”

Kageyama and Shouyou shared a confused glance. “And how did they go in the sky to become spoons?” 

At her brother’s question Mai clapped again. “A forest fairy saw everything. She was secretly in love with one of the brothers. In her grief, she did some ‘Abracadabra’ and ‘swoosh-swoosh’. And then she made them go up in the sky so she could look at her love forever.”

Kageyama looked up at the stars. They were so still and unmoving. “And the bear?” He asked. “Why are they called Small Bear and Great Bear, instead of Great Brother and Small Brother?”

Mai blinked a few times then she sat down again. “Hmm, that’s because the fairy really liked bears.”

“What! But a bear killed her love!” Shouyou protested loudly. He flapped his hands a few times, almost smacking Kageyama and Mai. Kageyama glared and forced Sho’s swinging limbs down.

“Is this really the story?” Tobio inquired annoyed.

“...” Mai said nothing.

Her brother sighed and sat up. “Mai.”

“Nope, I made it up. I have no idea why these spoons are called bears.”

“And you made us listen to your shitty bear story?!”

“Hey! No need to be rude, idiot.”

“You are the stupid idiot, Mai.”

“Shut your mouth, baka.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!”

The twins were now shoving at each other lightly, the force behind their words and hits increasing with each second. Kageyama, now used to their antics, grabbed Shouyou by the back of his t-shirt and pulled the boy away from his sister. From the unexpected action, the twins ceased their fight. Shouyou stumbled a little and fell against Tobio’s chest. The boys grunted. Mai huffed a little but just went back to laying on the ground in silence, peacefully observing the night sky.

“That was a lame story.” Shouyou said under his nose as he detangled from Tobio. The two boys had slight flush to their faces, but the darkness of the night hid it. Kageyama agreed silently with his teammate. Instead of getting angry, Mai just nodded, acknowledging the truth. She massaged absentmindedly her left tight over the colorful medical tape there. “Then you think of a better one!” Shouyou took up the challenge with a laugh.

“There were two bears. One day they decided to fight to the death! The bigger bear was sure he would win, but the tiny bear used his amazing jumping skills and killed him, and after ‘swish’ and ‘blah’ and ‘woaah’ the bigger bear died and become a spoon on the sky and then the little bear died from its injuries and became a smaller spoon.”

Tobio and Mai stood in silence. Mai scratched her head a little. “I worry about you, Sho. Maybe you should go seek help.”

“Wha-a-a! Why?!”

“A small bear can’t kill a bigger one.” Kageyama had no idea why he said that. It just slipped his mouth.

“Not true!” Instantly the twins opposed his statement. A quick shared smirk and the two siblings attacked Tobio. The boy stiffened in surprise. Shouyou was sitting on his chest, most of his weight was supported on his knees so he wasn’t crushing Kageyama. Mai sat on his legs and tapped kis knees in some random rhythm.

“Let’s show this giant-wanna-be how two small bears can finish him!”

“N-not fair! O-o-oi Hinata-boke! Get off! Both of you! Haha-ha-ha NO, stop!”

Swift tiny fingers were tickling him as two body-weights made sure he couldn’t run away.

“Victory for the short people!” Mai stated with unusually for her booming voice.

Tobio gasped for breaths but didn’t back down. “N-never! Get off me!”

His lungs were burning, but he thought that the warmth in his chest wasn’t from the lack of air. Above his face was Shouyou, with his sunny huge-ass grin and light in his eyes, brighter than the stars themselves. 

* * *

“This is Lev, he is partly russian!”

Mai’s eyes widened, she bowed and then she offered her hand for a hand-shake “Privet! Menya zavut Mai! Kak dela?*” Her simple but not bad russian was met with confused silence. Lev was awed. This is the second Hinata to speak Russian at a good level. They knew his language better than himself!

“Please, teach me russian!”

With a quick identical nod, the twins agreed. “What do you want to know?”

Lev thought about it. “Aah… How do I say ‘Oi, fucking idiot, this short man is the ace of our team and he is not a first year!’”

Somewhere in the background a loud thud was heard, followed by a series of snickers.

Not blinking an eye, Mai and Sho opened their mouths ready to comply and teach. However, before they could utter even a sound, Suga-san flew out of nowhere and pulled them by the hands. The left a defenseless Lev to the wrath of Yaku-san, who had heard everything.

“If I hear any cursing, regardless of the language, you are in trouble.” 

They didn’t need to be told twice. Mai and Sho gulped and bobbed their heads in understanding. 

* * *

“See the orange bits? And the ball is the same color, but the shade is different from my hair so the apparatus can stand out better to he judges and the audience.”

“Aaah.” Shouyou nodded in understanding, listening to every word which left his sister’s mouth. The two of them were laying on their stomachs, with zero space in between each other. Mai was holding a phone and she was showing pictures to her brother, who in return ‘ooh-ed’ and ‘aaah-ed’ at all the sparkles and glitter that was shoved in his face. He had grown up with all the shine and hair buns, the ribbon twirls and graceful spins. He appreciated beauty perhaps a tad bit more than the average high school volleyball freak.

“Anya says that the green in the fabric makes me stand out, too.”

“It does!” Shouyou agreed enthusiastically. The light from the phone screen illuminated the twins’ faces. Their words were barely above a whisper and the darkness and stillness of the room exaggerated each stuffled giggle and muffled sentence. Mai was an illegal fugitive, she sneaked in the boys’ sleeping room after Shouyou texted her that everyone were asleep. Mai had the ability to walk silently like a cat, so she quickly tiptoed to Sho’s futon without waking anybody. Any other girl would go crazy at the thought of entering a room with a bunch of good looking guys just sleeping right there, but Mai didn’t have that point of view. She was just craving some sibling-time.

Sharing a blanket was nothing new for the two of them and once they settled properly and the novelty of doing something forbidden wore out, Mai looked around the room. In the dark it was at first hard to pinpoint exactly who was sleeping where, but once her eyes adjusted, she recognized every figure around her. On Shouyou’s left side was Kageyama’s still and tall form, and next to him were Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. In the other side of room, Asahi’s big body was gently moving with his deep breathing and next to him Noya-senpai looked tiny. Tanaka-senpai’s head had a slight shine where the moonlight reflected from it and Mai bid down another giggle. The rest of the second years weren’t far, and then Daichi and Suga-san finished the long line of futons. From that particular corner came the only more noticable noise in the room. With each inhale, Daichi released a not overly loud snore.

“Shhh! Mai! If Suga-san or Daichi-san wakes up, we are in trouble!”

Mai took a deep breath and rammed her head in the pillow below her, loosing the grip on her phone and making the device land somewhere among the white sheets beneath them.

After a few seconds of trying to get herself under control, Mai raised her head at whispered in Sho’s ear.

“Daichi-san snores, if he can hear us from his own snoring that’s a miracle and Suga-san looks sound asleep. He won’t even know!” The twins shared a look of mirth big grins spread on their faces. Then, suddenly, a voice broke the bubble.

“Oooh, he will know.”

Shouyou and Mai sharply turned to stare with wide eyes at Suga-senpai, who was sleepily leaning on a hand, blinking at them, clearly not amused.

“But-” the two started together even though neither of them was sure what they were going to say exactly.

“Mai, we’ll discuss your trespassing tomorrow morning. Right now, if the two of you are not asleep in five minutes, I’m waking up Daichi and then even God himself won’t help you.”

There was no need for an answer, the two siblings immediately dropped on the shared pillow. Their heads almost collided, Sho’s elbow poked Mai in her ribs, while her knee got Sho in the stomach, both releasing dull grunts until they finally settled properly. Mai’s phone was lightly tossed to the side from underneath her and then finally, the two of them were ready.

Meanwhile Suga observed with a critical eye, ready to fulfill his threat. In under three minutes the two first years were breathing evenly and Suga could see how relaxed their faces were in sleep. Before he fell back in dreamland, Suga noticed with a tender smile that Shouyou’s hand had moved and was now holding a strand of his sister’s hair. They were like adorable puppies. 

* * *

“Akaashi! Let’s take them both!”

“Where?”

“With us!”

“Bokuto-san, they aren’t stray animals.”

“Then let’s just lend them from Daichi for a little while!”

“Bokuto-san….”

Mai and Shouyou were currently praying to Tsukishima to come with them. To the side Kageyama stood passive, but the desperation in his eyes was telling enough. 

“Scatter off, shrimps. Go bother your king.” Tsukishima hissed. He was clearly fed up with them.

“Please, Tsukki! Suga-san said we can go only if you come with us!” Mai and Sho begged at the same time.

“That’s because in between the three of you, your shared brain cells have zero orientational abilities.”

“Yes, Tsukki, we are stupid, please, come with us to buy ice cream!”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes at their antics and hit them behind the heads. “Don’t go around saying you are stupid, stupid.”

From a nearby corner, Yamaguchi bit back a laugh. He knew secretly, very deep down, Tsukishima actually cared about the Hinatas. In his own weird way, of course. 

“Yes, Tsukki. Please, Tsukki.” The twins continued their dramatic begging. 

Bokuto gushed and rushed to them. He grabbed a chin from each of them and squished their faces together, banging their heads softly.

“Tsukki!” The loud ace cried out. “How can you say no to these faces!”

“Bokuto-san!” Akaashi seemed exasperated. He tried to pull Bokuto from the two first-years but his captain wouldn't bulge. “Bokuto-san, let them go!”

“Their cheeks are squishy, Akaashi!”

Even pushed against each other like this, the twins never lost sight of Kei. “Ice cream, Tsukki!” They got out mushed against Bokuto’s hands.

“No.”

“Bokuto-san! Let go already!”

“We’ll buy you dinosaur crackers.” 

At Tobio’s words, Kei stopped putting his stuff in his bag and actually turned around towards the setter. Kageyama was leaning against the wall, a short distance from them. With the corner of his eye, Tsukishima noticed Yamaguchi’s grin and understood his friend had helped with ideas.

“Two packets.” He stated calmly. 

“YES!” Mai and Shouyou cheered, standing up abruptly. In the process Bokuto was pushed aside and before anyone could comprehend what has happened, the four Karasuno first years were gone.

“Akaashi, they are cute puppies!”

“Bokuto-san...” 

* * *

“Are you sure all of you really want to watch it?”

Mai stood a little insecure in front of half the teams from the training camp. They were all sitting on the floor, a TV was rolled in. 

“Of course, Mai-chan!” Bokuto hollered. Mai unconsciously raised on her toes and then stepped properly again. Kiyoko-san helped her put on the USB drive in and there, on the black screen came up a small figure with orange hair and head held high. The murmur among the boys stopped. For the next ninety seconds, the only noise in the gym was the music from the video. Mai watched herself. She wondered how many of these volleyball players have never before seen rhythmic gymnastics. What were they thinking? What was it like to meet gymnastics for the first time? 

The music came to a stop and so did on-screen-Mai. Shouyou was restlessly turning his head left and right, waiting for a reaction from his friends. The room exploded in moments, clapping, praise, amazement and curiosity. Bokuto stood up and somehow managed to get everyone to quieten down. 

The big ace went to Mai and looked at her. She tilted her head to lock eyes.

“What is it like to breath the air of national and world champions?”

Mai had no idea. She didn’t know the answer to this question, yet, words spilled from her with no effort.

“It’s heavy, it’s so heavy, it’s almost suffocating. It’s also light. It’s like flying, like you are weightless.”

Bokuto smirked. “Hey, hey, heeey! I’m strong enough to fly even with a heavy load on my back!”

From there, the boys once again exploded in cacophony of noise and laughter. But her words would ring in their ears for a long time.

_***Extra scene*** _

Yachi observed anxiously as the twins and Kageyama whispered something to each other, while Tsukishima scowled at them from a distance. The young manager looked worriedly at Yamaguchi next to her. 

"Will they be okay?"

Yamaguchi smiled softly. "Yes, don't worry, Yachi-san. Tsukki won't kill them and bury them under an unknown electricity tower." 

Yachi laughed nervously. She was going to say something else but Suga and Daichi's entrance interrupted her.

"Now" Suga started. "You three" he pointed at Tobio, Mai and Sho "Don't stray from Tsukishima, listen to him and no talking to strangers! Even if they are Ushijima."

"But Ushijima is not a stranger."

"If you see him, treat him as one. Don't follow strangers, okay?"

The trio nodded.

"Tsukishima" this time Suga addressed the tall blonde. "Don't lose them on purpose and make sure they don't get lost."

"Tsk."

"Listen carefully, you troublemakers." Daichi stood in his full captain authority, swinging his pointier finger in his kouhais' faces. "Yes, Tsukishima, you too. If even one person from this neighborhood complains about you disturbing them, I'll end you all."

Suga scoffed and jabbed his friend playfully. The first years were wide-eyed and terrified. Daichi went on. "If I you manage to get lost again, better not come back at all." 

"Daichi!" Suga scolded him, but the boy continued.

"I'll know if you as much as step in the wrong direction. Now go and be careful!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Have fun eating ice cream!" Suga waved after them then he turned to Daichi. "I like it when you get all 'captain voice'." The third-year setter winked. Daichi sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with blush dancing on his cheeks.

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. Your voice gets firm and deeper. And when you cross your arms your biceps just... Ah."

Daichi purposely flexed his muscles. "So you like that?"

Suga licked his lips. His mouth felt dry. "Mhm."

From the side, Yachi and Yamaguchi shuddered at their senpais. It felt like watching your parents flirt. 

"Let's go, Yachi-san, before we see something we can't unsee."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! =) Your comments make me happy, so please, leave your thoughts :)  
> Kind of messy and random chapter, but, oh well. The last few weeks have been crazy with work, so I'm sorry for the lack of regular updates. Hopefully I'll fall back in normal schedule.  
> I'll leave a video of the ball routine I imagine for Mai. I hope some visualization helps - [video here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj62QwuLKLA)  
> This is watch the boys watched and what she showed Sho.   
> *Privet! Menya zavut Mai! Kak dela?* - 'Hi! My name is Mai! How are you?'
> 
> Tsukki is weak for puppies, he just plays it though. Kageyama is c o n f u s e d. What are feelings? Bokuto is trying to steal Suga's kids. Therapy for Yachi and Yamaguchi. Idk what else to say, it's really late, this is probably filled with typos like crazy, but I can barely see to edit right now. 
> 
> Have a great weekend and be safe!


	14. xiv

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, woah! I didn't know this was going to be a final chapter, I was surprised by myself! I had chapter notes for a regular chapter and then I started writing and this was born... whelp, here we are. I just feel like this way the story feels complete. However, don't think this is the last you're going to see from the Hinata twins! I'm making this series and you can expect some one-shots. So far the story covers up to the end of season 3 of the anime. I'm up to date with the latest chapters of the manga. I want to start Season 4 as a separate story or a one-shot... Regardless of how I chose to proceed with canon, you can be sure there will be more additions to these series with stories of their everyday lives, some fluff, some angst, some love, perhaps some laughs, who knows.  
> Enjoy!

Being around a big group of volleyball-obsessed teenage boys was surprisingly positive and motivating. Mai felt as if her batteries were re-charging and she had no idea she needed that boost before she came here. 

They were all on rivaling teams, however the atmosphere was light and supportive. Observing all the different coloured jerseys mingling and sharing tips was in a way fascinating. There was zero hostility. They even accepted her with open arms and wide grins.

In a way it reminded her dearly of her own teammates back at the Gymnastic center. Even though all the girls were striving for gold, outside of these 90 seconds on the carpet, they were all a big family. They knew better than anyone else just what is the price for the winner. What sits behind the smile and the delicate bow when you get your medal.

Mai spent no more than twenty-four hours in the company of her brother’s training camp. For that short time she was able to dive in Sho’s world more than on usual basis. 

Loud cheers, even louder encouragements, many high-fives and fond looks. Seemingly endless penalty dives, deafening thuds of out-of-this-world spikes and serves. When Mai holds a ball it moves with the fluidity of a gentle stream, a feather which gracefully merges with her motion. Here the ball flies through the air like thunder - fast and unstoppable. Yet, there were guardians able not only to stop it but also control it. Spectacular, really. 

The help being offered was always sincere, everybody’s eyes were constantly ready to observe and learn. Somebody’s mistake could be vital if you know to avoid it in your own game. Building gamesense and growing as players. Right in front of her eyes. Spectacular, thruly.

When Anya came to take her back, Mai felt starving. But not for food. She was starving for her own drive, her own sport. She was amped to fall back in training. Her muscles were fine, the tightness and the cramping had disappeared. She was ready. 

Saying goodbye was emotional, perhaps not overly so, but just enough to gather around eighteen students in the parking lot, making more ruckus than acceptable for this time of the day. She got hugs from a big number of boys and even Yachi and Kiyoko-san embraced her and whispered their encouraging words in her ear. Kageyama stiffly patted her on the back only to have the small girl jump in his arms. He awkwardly held her and then relaxed. The tall setter gave her one last gentle pat on the back before he released her. She immediately went to Tsukishima who at this point knew better than to run. The stoic boy endured five seconds of uncalled-for affection before he pushed Mai at Yamaguchi and moved out of reach.

Last was Shouyou. When everyone else were done, he stepped forward and the twins stood facing each other. So close together, it was clear how Shouyou was starting to become taller than his sister. For now they still stood mostly at eye-level. 

They didn’t utter a word and just looked at one another. Like two linked puppets on strings, Mai and Shouyou simultaneously raised a hand each and intertwined their fingers in a strong grip. Lips breaking in a face-splitting smile, Shouyou pulled at his twin and squeezed her against his chest. Two identically orange heads clashed. 

“I’m happy you worked out the quick attack with Kageyama”

“I’m happy you look so alive performing.”

“I’m happy I was able to see you and the others.”

“I’m happy you were here. I wish you could be here all the time.”

“Me too.”

Mai clutched Sho’s shirt in her fists and buried her head against his shoulder.

“Promise me that no matter what, you wont stop believing in yourself, Mai. And you won't push your body too much, right?”

For just a second she felt like crying. She couldn’t really explain it, but the emotion in her heart boiled to a point where she could feel the tears behind her closed eyelids. For just a second, she wanted to stay in her brother’s arms where it was calm and safe, where she felt secure and supported, where she was whole. Her breath shuddered and a sob got stuck in her throat. 

“Mai, promise me.” Shouyou spoke against her ear with a quiet and gentle tone which was so uncharacteristic for the usually noisy boy. For just a second, Mai went back to that day a year ago, when Shouyou lost and he was devastated. That day she made him promise something. With him crying against her, she made him swear to never give up and to never let go of his one big dream. The warm memory made her smile and breathe through the fast beats of her heart. For just a second, Mai’s sob turned in a laugh and the girl nodded.

“I promise.”

Shouyou pushed her slightly so he could rub their noses together. “Then I promise you that you’ll win.”

The girl giggled again. “You can’t promise something like this, dummy.”

“I can, too! You promised us we are going to National’s, remember? It’s the same. We believe you, you should believe us, stupid!”

The two stayed with their foreheads against one another for a few minutes. Mai was biting her lips to stop giggling, while Shouyou was grinning devilishly. Nobody dared to interrupt their moment.

For just a second, for the two of them time has stopped. For just a short, tiny, insignificant second, Hinata Mai and Hinata Shouyou were alone among the crowd and they didn’t need anyone else. 

* * *

After that, the seconds flew by fast and unrelenting. The training camp was over for Karasuno and they returned to school. Mai stayed in Tokyo for another week. She had tutors and did some distance learning to not get too behind in studying.

On the carpet she felt more at peace than ever. Anya also commented on the change. 

She talked with her brother every day. He would call her on his way home, or on his way to school, during the lunch breaks, one time even while he was in the toilet. Kageyama comfortably joined in their conversations and a few time Yachi timidly included herself. 

Texting was her gate to her other friends. She even got Tsukki to answer her a fare amount of times. The whole Karasuno team made sure to send her at least one or two lines everyday.

She managed to continue texting with Bokuto-san and Kuroo-san, too. Akaashi-san was a great person to speak to. And with Kenma she wrote a lot, they talked about everything but sport. They discussed youtube videos, games, movies, Kuroo’s bad taste in candy and Sho’s annoying habits. 

By the time Worlds were just a few days away, she was yet to return home. It seemed like she would have to fly to France, where the competition was held, without stepping a foot in Karasuno high school. She tried her best not to let this affect her.

She was on a plane when Karasuno won against Ohgiminami High. She was still on the same plane when her boys managed to defeat Kakugawa and their 201cm weapon. Landing in Paris with a jet-lag heavy on her eyelids, she read through all her 147 texts from different people, informing her in detail about how the games went. 

Paris greeted her with a rainy night. Once settled in the hotel, at 9 pm, Mai called Shouyou. It was four in the morning in Japan but when her brother picked-up the phone, he didn’t complain, he fell straight in story-time. That night Mai fell asleep listening to her twin’s recalling of what she has missed.

The first day in Paris is for adjustment and resting. Mai goes sightseeing. She buys a lot of French chocolate for home and then sleeps away the rest of the day. She wakes up right before dinner to see a message from Yachi, telling her how Kageyama tried to sneak as a spy in Aoba Josai. She snickered as she called the black-haired setter, waking him and keeping him grumbling on the phone for an hour while she ate, before she herself fell asleep in the middle of complaining about the language barrier over there. 

The next day, Mai and her team boarded another plane to fly to Montpellier, where the competition was held. While Mai was somewhere over the breathtakingly beautiful French lands, Jozenji fell against Karasuno. The Japanese National Team of Rhythmic Gymnastics were in the middle of their first official training session when Shouyou and the others won against Wakutani South. However, Daichi was injured. In one of her breaks, Mai checked her phone only to see Yachi’s panicked messages. She contacted Shouyou. After the initial congratulations and joyful exchange, she asked about their Captain. Apparently he took a nasty hit to the head and even lost a tooth. The small girl called Daichi. For the next thirty minutes he calmed her down doing his best to prove to her he was okay. Suga joined in and the three of them talked. They shared how grateful they were to be able to play in these games, to feel the adrenaline of the play, the power of the ball, the spirit of the team. At one point they even discussed the future of the club. Ennoshita had done marvelously while Daichi was with the medic. The third years weren’t worried.

That night Mai fell asleep normally. When she woke up early in the morning, Aoba Jōsai had fallen and her crows triumphed. She almost choked on her breakfast in her haste to call Kageyama. He had done it, he beat Oikawa. She knew how much this meant to him.

The next fight for the boys was against Shiratorizawa. The next fight for her was against the world.

The first whistle for the game blew the moment she stepped on the carpet with her chin held high. They fought for all they were worth. Their sweat glistened like her sparkles did. She threw the ball high as Kageyama did an ocean away. Her heart was beating fast just like Sho’s. 

Tsukishima roared full of emotion and newly found love for volleyball, while Mai bit her lips to keep her scream in. She had done it. She did it. 

At the end, Karasuno overtook Shiratorizawa and Mai became a world champion for ball. Her next apparatus was the hoop, where she took silver, but she felt content with it. She had done her best and it wasn’t her fault there was someone with a better routine. On the podium, she sincerely smiled and hugged her opponent. This time, Shouyou called her. The whole team was there on speaker. They had just gotten on the bus and had no idea how Mai’s competition was going.

“Sho-”

“MAI!”

“Sho!”

“Mai!”

“I did it!”

“We did it!”

“You did it!?”

“You did it!?”

“YEAH!”

What followed was a lot of incomprehensible sounds as the twins were stuck somewhere between victoriously shouting and crying. Noya and Tanaka joined in, which made Suga interrupt them and calm them all down.

“You are going to Nationals! I’m so happy! Sho! Everybody! I knew it! I told you!”

There wasn’t one person not smiling. Even Tsukishima couldn’t hold it. The team discussed their win briefly, filling in on the most important moments.

“Mai! Tell me how did it go for you?” Shouyou demanded of his sister. 

“I got silver on the hoop. It was amazing, Russia took the gold but Elisaveta deserved it, she was amazing. The medal is so pretty!” The team cheered and then quieted down. On the other side of the line, music was heard in a muffled manner. Mai cleared her throat and exhaled loudly in the phone.

“I got gold on ball.”

“WHAT?!”

“I got gold on ball! I got gold on ball! I won! I became a world champion, Sho! Oh, Sho!”

Shouyou slapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes going wide. He wasn’t sure if Mai was crying, but it sounded like it. 

“You-Mai-you- A WORLD CHAMPION! MAI!” 

All of a sudden the bus got so loud that Takeda-sensei decided to pull over until the kids calmed down. The kind teacher and Ukai shared a fond look and turned around to watch the madness in the vehicle. The three loud-mouths were going crazy, Shouyou looked either on the verge of hysterically crying in happiness or hysterically screaming in joy. Yachi was actually crying against Kiyoko. Then Mai had to go for an interview and to train again. Tomorrow was the day for clubs and ribbon. Two more battles she had to face. She felt lighter than a feather. She felt alive. And it wasn’t that much about winning. It was because she was able to do what she loved. She was baring her soul for everyone to see and it felt freeing. 

When the time came for the next round, the whole Karasuno team got together to watch. Takeda-sensei got an official stream of the event and in the late afternoon with his breath held tight and his hand clutching Kageyama’s, Shouyou witnessed his sister taking a silver in clubs and a gold in ribbon. He didn’t blink once in fear of missing something. On the screen she hiccuped and threw herself at Anya. The commentators were saying something in rapid words and overjoyed voices. The Karasuno gym was echoing with cheers. They had a champion. Two golds and two silvers, when they combined the points, Mai was in the lead with a small margin. She was crowned the All-around winner. Official world All-around champion.

“Wait, wait, wait, shhh.” Ennoshita commanded the boys to keep silent. “Be quiet, they are saying something.”

“... and with this Hinata Mai will take home the All-around gold medal! That’s an official world record, the youngest competitor so far to win World’s All-around title! We have seen it happen at domestic competitions all over the world, even at Europeans, but for the first time in the modern history of this sport a 15 year old took the gold for All-around!...”

Shouyou was pretty sure he has stopped breathing long ago. A lost gulp of air wheezed out of him. Kageyama didn’t know what to say so he simply put his free hand on Sho’s shoulder.

“Fair and square, this girl showed us that a champion is born with hard work! Spectacular programs, magnificent execution! Her coach, an ex-Olympian, managed to transfer all of her experience and knowledge exceptionally well on this tiny champion!...”

Mai, in all her short stature and graceful glory, stood still for the national anthem and the raising of the flag. The whole place applauded her. She couldn’t comprehend what exactly had happened. Anya hugged her so strong. The stoic woman smiled softly and kissed the girl on the forehead. In an emotional mixture of languages the woman told Mai how proud she was, how wonderfully excellent the girl had done. How, even if her points hadn’t turned out to be enough for gold, she would have been endlessly proud because Mai looked so happy and free on the carpet. Just like the little girl stepping for the first time in the gym around ten years ago.

People of all nationalities shoved cameras and microphones in her face, her friends, still in leotards and competition makeup, came up to her for a hug and congratulations. 

Mai still felt in a daze. The weight of the medals against her chest felt foreign even if it was hardly the first time she wore it. She smiled, she laughed, she embraced and took photos, she spoke and she posed. But she felt confused. Happy, but confused. 

Then came the call. 

“Shouyou!”

“MAI!” Her twin’s voice was choired by the voices of their friends and Mai wondered if that’s what it sounds like when the two siblings speak at the same time. 

“Shouyou, I think I won the All-around gold.”

A twinkling laugh escaped from her brother. “Mai! You won it, yeah! You were amazing! All ‘sluuush’ and ‘gwaaaah’. Then ‘woooash’ and then ‘bwhuam’. We watched the whole thing!”

One big family, far away, celebrated together.

Even before Mai came back from France, Japan was caught in post-win spirit. Mai and Sho’s mother was engulfed in requests for interviews and photo-shoots. A journalist went as far as to visit Karasuno and rather rudely tried to force Shouyou to talk about his sister. Daichi had to cut in and have a few words with the man.

On the airport, Mai and the other girls from the team were swamped by people but she held bravely. In her opinion, journalists were scarier than an actual competition. Thanks to Anya’s preparation, everything went by fast and smooth. In a private section of the parking lot, Mai saw her mother and Natsu waiting by their car. The girl started running and hugged them. A lot of kisses and lovely words were exchanged before her very being sensed Shouyou. He was rocking back and forth. His grin brighter than the sun. His fingers were twitching but he steadily caught Mai when she leaped at him. Shouyou twirled her around happily. 

“You won!” They cried out at the same time and then laughed. “We won.” The twins echoed in a more mellow tone this time. 

Hinata Shouyou and Hinata Mai were two parts of a whole. They lived for each other and because of each other.

Mai was there to see her bother fly, to see him fall and to hold him. She was there to see him grow both as a person and as a player. Truly a fearless warrior facing down every obstacle on his way with unparalleled braveness. He was there to see her conquer the World. Tiny, graceful and almighty, she stood on top. He was there to help her carry the burden of the victory.

He was loud, while she was quiet, he was chaos, while she was calm and collected, she was the voice of his reasoning, he was the voice of her pride. Together, they carried a strength heavy, but powerful. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Really, I thank each and every single one of you for bearing with my typos and the inconsistent updates! I loved reading your comments and very special thanks to the amazingly talented ghostieqwq for giving part of her free time to make such perfect art of the twins!!!! (I'll link it in the future)
> 
> I'll be extremely happy to hear what you think :)  
> I wrote this in one sitting, no idea what I wrote, but it feels complete. Don't say goodbye to Hinata Mai, you're gonna hear from her soon enough!
> 
> For reference, Yana Kudryavtseva became the youngest rhythmic gymnast to win All-around at the age of 15 in 2013. At first I wasn't going to make Mai win her first ever world event, but I felt like she deserved it.  
> These programs are what I envision for Mai. Arina Averina won gold in ball and ribbon with them at World's in 2017. And I think their energized manner fits a Hinata very well :D [Ribbon program](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2E6ttz1JDY) and [Ball program](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj62QwuLKLA)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> I'll be happy to hear your opinion.
> 
> Hinata Mai was a product of my brain one night while I was watching rhythmic gymnastic videos after viewing one of the first Haikyuu episodes. 
> 
> As of the beginning of the story, she is the same height as Shouyou. I don't know a lot about gymnastics, so excuse any and all inaccuracies. I have foregone the realism a little in order to fit the plot. I'm aware that a gymnast at the level I'm making Mai wont have such... weird training conditions. But this is fanfiction and everything is possible :D
> 
> PS: Mai won't be taking any Karasuno boys. She has other plans than love. But she shall meddle with her brother's love life.


End file.
